Today, US President Joe Biden will wrap up his trip to Ireland with series activities in Co Mayo.
The main event of the day will be a public address in Ballina, where President Biden’s forefathers emigrated in the middle of the nineteenth century.
His links with the area and the bonds he has forged in recent years with his local cousins means it is the day likely to have the most personal significance for Mr Biden, and the family members accompanying him on the trip.
The US president’s great-great-great Grandfather Edward Blewitt left Ballina for Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the 1850s.
Today’s return journey is the latest in a number of visits to the west by Mr Biden in recent years. He was in Ballina, as vice president, in 2016 and returned to Mayo the following year, in a personal capacity, to turn the sod on a new hospice building in Castlebar.
While he could not make the official opening ceremony of that facility due to election commitments in 2020, he has pledged to return at some point in the future.
Air Force One is expected to land at Ireland West Airport around lunchtime. From there, the US Presidential entourage will travel to Knock, where Mr Biden will visit the Marian Shrine and take some time for private prayer.
The next scheduled stop is at the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Centre, where he will explore further the story of his Blewitt ancestors.
Later there will be meetings with his local cousins, before he delivers a speech in front of an anticipated crowd of thousands in Ballina this evening.
His address, in front of St Muredach’s Cathedral, has an added symbolism, given that Edward Blewitt is recorded as supplying over 25,000 bricks for the construction of the church in the 1820s.
Mr Biden’s address is expected at around 9pm.
It will follow an evening of live music on the banks of the River Moy, with performances from The Chieftans, among others. Gates for the event open at 5.30pm, with the official programme commencing at 7pm.
Afterwards, he is expected to take some time to visit the interior of the Cathedral before departing Ballina by helicopter.
The visit will officially conclude with a departure ceremony attended by members of the Government, at Ireland West Airport, tonight. Mr Biden will fly to Dublin before transferring to another plane, for his return journey to the US.
Gardaí have advised motorists that there will be rolling road closures in different parts of the county throughout the day, with full details listed on the garda website.
Source: RTE