Taoiseach to mark 250 years of US independence during visit to Philadelpia
By Rebecca Black, Press Association in Philadelphia
The Taoiseach is to set to mark 250 years of United States independence during a visit to Philadelphia.
Micheál Martin’s visit to the Pennsylvanian city comes as part of the annual visit by Ireland’s leader to the US for St Patrick’s Day, which will include a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
This year’s visit has been described by the Taoiseach’s office as very special as the US celebrates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Martin will also celebrate Irish athletes, as well as making a brief stop off at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art made famous by the Rocky films.
He is set to meet athletes studying at Villanova University as part of the Irish Pipeline athletics programme which has shaped 13 Irish Olympians including Sonia O’Sullivan, Eamonn Coghlan and Ronnie Delaney, the last Irish athlete to win gold on the track at the Olympics in 1956.
The Taoiseach’s day is to start with laying a wreath at the Irish Memorial dedicated to the more than one million Irish who died in the famine, as well as the millions of migrants who made the US their home.
Later, the Taoiseach will attend the 255th Annual Gala of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of Saint Patrick with 400 business and community leaders from Philadelphia.
It was founded in 1771 by Cork man Stephen Moylan, a celebrated general in the American Revolution, George Washington’s aide de camp and the man said to be responsible for the first written record of the phrase The United States of America.
On Sunday, Martin will attend the Philadelphia St Patrick’s Day Parade and lay a wreath at the statue of Commodore John Barry.
The visit to Philadelphia comes at the start of the Taoiseach’s annual visit to the United States for St Patrick’s Day.
He is set to travel on to Washington DC for the traditional celebrations for Ireland’s national holiday.
His itinerary includes a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Last year’s meeting saw the US president take questions from reporters for almost an hour.
The Government said the discussions will cover a range of issues, including the “deep ties” between the two countries.
Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she would be going to Washington to engage with the president, while First Minister Michelle O’Neill and other Sinn Féin politicians are boycotting the White House.
