The Irish violinist chosen to play at Joe Biden's inauguration is "nearly one of the family", having played for the US president-elect on a number of occasions.
Patricia Treacy, from Louth, was invited by the Biden family on Wednesday to play at the event in Washington DC on January 20, 2021.
"It was an incredible honour and such a privilege and I honestly can't believe it," she told .
"I don't know what to think. My head's in a spin."
Ms Treacy, one of Ireland's top concert violinists, was asked to play for the then vice-president in March 2016, during the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington.
"After the performance, he was chatting, and he was so down to earth, and so genuine."
She also played for Mr Biden when he came to Ireland in the summer and was asked to play for him again in Cooley, Co Louth.
"I'm so fond of him," she said.
"That day, when the request from the family said will you please join us in Lily Finnegan's pub and the Secret Service whisked me off in the motorcade... where I got to spend the time with the family.
When the vice-president came in, he said he wants to have his photograph taken with his Irish violinist, and he got his niece to take the photograph.
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"Just since then I've been very friendly with the whole lot of them."
Ms Treacy is the recipient of many prestigious music awards and has performed in iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and London's Royal Albert Hall.
For the 1916 centenary, she played a specially commissioned piece written by Patrick Cassidy.
Ms Treacy will play at the event on Capitol Hill and said she is "both honoured and privileged and obviously super excited", but not sure what piece of music she will play yet.
"I was just given the date, we don't know what the protocol on the day is going to be, no," said Ms Treacy.
"But I'm sure they'll be back in touch with me and we'll figure all that out."
She said she would like to play an Irish air for the president-elect.
"I think that would be very appropriate. I mean, he is from Ireland, after all."
