Joe Biden celebrates St Patrick’s Day at White House with Irish PM Leo Varadkar as post-Brexit trade talk continues

Varadkar promised Biden a good time on his visit to Ireland, expected to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the US-brokered Good Friday Agreement on April 10

Biden and Varadkar discussed US help with negotiations over trade rules between post-Brexit Britain, its Northern Irish province and the Republic of Ireland

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Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, left,shakes hands with US President Joe Biden during a St Patrick’s Day Celebration at the White House in Washington on Friday. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Published: 1:35am, 18 Mar 2023Updated: 6:28am, 18 Mar 2023

US President Joe Biden and Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar painted the town green on Friday, celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day – and touting Biden’s expected visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday peace accords.

The annual White House visit by the Irish prime minister, or taoiseach, is a cherished tradition on the Irish national holiday.

That has never been more true than under Biden, who frequently trumpets his family roots in Ireland and sprinkles quotes from Irish poems through his speeches.

In front of a fire in the Oval Office, Biden, sporting a sprig of shamrock in his lapel, said Saint Patrick’s is a “big day” in his house.

A green fountain on the White House south lawn in honour of St Patrick’s Day on Friday. Photo: AFP

Varadkar, also wearing shamrock, highlighted US help in tortuous negotiations over trade rules between post-Brexit Britain and its Northern Irish province and the Republic of Ireland, which is in the European Union.