Biden’s Irish ancestry is a deep part of his personal history, but he does not appear to view the agreement in Northern Ireland as an important part of his political past. He does not mention the agreement in any of his books, and it does not feature prominently in Senate speeches from the time.
As a senator from Delaware, Biden was among those who traveled in a delegation with President Bill Clinton to shore up support for the agreement in 1998, when Biden was the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden in a sense is in a similar position now, attempting to keep all sides aligned at a moment of uncertainty.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, which is breaking away from the European Union. The Republic of Ireland, in contrast, is an independent nation and is remaining part of the E.U. That has created a complex dynamic that is causing tangles related to borders and trade.
“Really, the message is twofold,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One, speaking of Biden’s visit to Belfast. “It’s congratulations on 25 years, the Good Friday Agreement, which has brought unprecedented peace and prosperity. And that kind of goes to the second goal, which is to talk about the importance of trying to work on trade and economic policies that benefit all communities, as well as the United States.”
Biden will begin his visit to Belfast by meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an engagement that the White House and British officials are playing down as more of an informal catch-up than an official summit. The president then heads to Ulster University to deliver remarks on the peace accords.
Despite the frequent mention of the Good Friday Agreement, Biden’s visit here is not part of the official celebration of the deal. Bill and Hillary Clinton, along with other prominent politicians who were involved in negotiating the peace accords, will travel to Belfast later this week for more formal anniversary-related events.
Part of the challenge for Biden and the other luminaries visiting Belfast is reckoning with the shortcomings of the agreement in an area whose politics remain turbulent. While conditions are far better now than during the decades of constant lethal violence between Catholics and Protestants, deep divisions — and sometimes walls — remain between nationalists, who want a “United Ireland” someday, and unionists, who want to remain “British Forever.”
As a result, many locals are in no mood to celebrate. And some unionists are wary of Biden, given his strong Irish identity.
“Like the Belfast Agreement itself, I find nothing to celebrate in the visit of President Biden,” said Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice, or TUV, a party favoring unity with Britain. “Biden is irredeemably partisan, having as a senator fought any easing of laws which would have allowed wanted [Irish Republican Army] terrorists to be extradited to face justice in the United Kingdom. His continuing stance is anti-British and anti-unionist.”
Although the days of “the Troubles,” when 3,600 people died and 47,000 were wounded, have long dissipated, few would describe Northern Ireland today as a place of harmony or calm.
Last month, Britain’s MI5 security service raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe,” and on Monday, protesters threw firebombs at police in Derry, about 70 miles northwest of Belfast, during a parade opposing the Good Friday Agreements. On Tuesday, police found four suspected pipe bombs at a cemetery in Derry.
Meanwhile, there is no functioning government in Northern Ireland — the reality for 40 percent of the last 25 years. The White House said Biden would meet with the leaders of the five of the main political parties during his brief visit here, but later clarified it would not be a formal group meeting.
Just after his remarks in Belfast, Biden is scheduled to travel to the Republic of Ireland for a stop in County Louth, the home of his ancestors on the Finnegan side of his family. On Friday, he will visit County Mayo, where his Blewitt ancestors are from, delivering remarks on the Irish American story, saying it is not only a tale of immigration but also a reflection of the United States as a country of immigrants.
On Thursday, the president is scheduled to address the Irish Parliament in Dublin, meet with political leaders and attend a banquet. Traveling with Biden are his sister, Valerie Biden Owen, and son Hunter.
“Just two of my family members who hadn’t been there before,” Biden said when asked about relatives traveling with him.
Biden’s Irish heritage is as much a part of his political biography as his rides on Amtrak and his love of ice cream. His major speeches often include quotes from such Irish poets and writers as Seamus Heaney, William Butler Yeats and James Joyce.
“My colleagues always kid me about quoting Irish poets all the time,” Biden once quipped. “They think I do it because I’m Irish. I do it because they’re the best poets.”
A figure who has experienced heavy personal loss, Biden sometimes seems to connect his Irish background with feelings of longing, emotion and tragedy.
“Everything between Ireland and the United States runs deep,” Biden said on St. Patrick’s Day in 2021, wearing a green tie and carrying a fistful of shamrocks in his coat pocket. “Our joys, our sorrows, our passion, our drive, our unrelenting optimism and hope.”
Amanda Ferguson contributed to this report.
