Biden casts US and Ireland as allies in quest for shared values

Since the president crossed the border from Northern Ireland on Wednesday a theme of homecoming has pervaded the trip. On Wednesday evening Biden visited the Cooley peninsula in County Louth, where his great-grandfather James Finnegan was born. He visited the 12th-century Carlingford Castle and received a rapturous response in Dundalk, where people braved wind and rain to line the streets and wave US flags.

After the parliament speech Biden attended a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle. The theme of the dinner, attended by current and retired politicians and public servants, was in-season Irish produce.

The menu consisted of a seafood starter with Lambay Island crab cake, a roast lamb main course and pear and maple tart for dessert.