Joe Biden warned on his way through Ireland that the world is "at a turning point" that will define what happens in the coming decades. And in a historic joint session before the Parliament and the Senate of the Republic of Ireland, the president of the United States assured that there is "a struggle between freedom and oppression, between democracy and autocracy." He recalled in passing the words of his predecessor John F. Kennedy before the same camera sixty years ago: "Ireland has never been neutral between liberty and tyranny, and never will be."
"Right now, the world needs a word that defines America and Ireland equally: possibilities," said Biden, cheered for several minutes after his speech. "We believe that everything is possible and that nothing can interfere with our ability to work together and united in the face of great challenges."
Biden praised Ireland's role in supporting Ukraine "in the face of Russia's brutal aggression." "Ireland remembers the terrible cost of war, and that is why it has opened its doors to 80,000 Ukrainian refugees," declared the US president.
"I've known Putin for 25 years and he thought the world would look the other way when he invaded his neighboring country," Biden said. "Putin was completely wrong. Today we are more determined than ever to defend the values that make us strong."
"It is time to face the challenges together," concluded the president, finally highlighting the historic moment of 25 years ago: "The Good Friday Agreement not only improved the lives of people in Northern Ireland, it it had a significant impact on the Republic of Ireland. Peace is precious, and we cannot allow political violence to take root on this island again."
Biden recalled, however, the state of "caution" in Northern Ireland because the democratic institutions are not working. "Peace, even if it has been a reality in their lives for an entire generation, needs people to defend it and nurture it," declared the US president, in a renewed appeal to local leaders to form a "power-sharing" government ".
"I'm home," Biden said at the outset, in English and Gaelic ("Táim abhaile"). "And I wish I could stay longer," she said before paying tribute "to the journey of our ancestors that expanded the horizon and fired our imaginations."
Biden was the fourth US president to address the Irish Parliament, after John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. His speech was followed live, among others, by former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, two of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Parliament Speaker Seán Ó Fearghaíl hailed his illustrious guest as "an epitome of the Irish diaspora." Fearghaíl also recalled the historic visit of the first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, "in a very different world and in a very different Ireland." Fearghail fired Biden in the words of poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heney: "You have made us believe that the farthest shore is attainable."
"The relationship between the United States and Ireland is getting stronger," Joe Biden stressed for his part after his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who even spoke of the "special relationship" between the two countries (a term commonly used to extol transatlantic ties with the UK).
"This goes back to history and the fact that we fought together in two world wars," added the Irish prime minister. "We must not underestimate the strength of US-UK relations."
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
