For President Biden’s Ireland visit, the UK feels like a third wheel

In the coming week, hosts and visitors alike will need to tread carefully to avoid the many snares that await in perilous diplomatic territory, writes Mary Dejevsky

The US and Ireland have emotional ties that the US and the UK simply do not have (AP)

The president of the United States is visiting the UK next week, but it will not be the state visit headlined in many British media reports at the start of the Easter holiday weekend. It is rather a single day’s visit to Belfast to join events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will then spend three days in the Republic of Ireland, partly in connection with the anniversary, partly discussing bilateral relations, and partly – in the time-honoured tradition of Irish-American politicians – celebrating the Biden family’s ancestral roots in the counties of Mayo and Louth.

Now you might think, and I would not disagree, that visits north and south of the border to commemorate the agreement that brought an end to the 30 years of armed conflict known as “The Troubles” make very good sense. After all, the agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was brokered by the United States, in the person of the lawyer and retired senator, George Mitchell. And if the president and first lady are going to cross the Atlantic for the anniversary, then it also makes sense for them to combine official events with that largely personal journey.