The US Government has played down security concerns ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival in Northern Ireland this evening. 

On Easter Monday, petrol bombs were thrown at a police Land Rover in the Creggan area of Derry and masked youths set fire to bins. 

In Newtownards, County Down, a number of homes were evacuated overnight after police discovered a suspicious object. 

Coordinator of the US National Security Council John Kirby said he was aware of the incidents but confirmed the visit would go ahead. 

“Certainly, we’ve seen that over the last couple of days there have been some [incidents] and the President is grateful for the work that the Northern Ireland security forces have done and continue to do to protect all communities and certainly the people in Northern Ireland,” he said. 

“He’s very much looking forward to going to Belfast. 

“The timing of this is timed around the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement - an agreement that the President has a personal connection to.” 

Presidential schedule

The President is due to deliver a speech at Ulster University on Wednesday and will then travel south for “various engagements”. 

It is expected he will visit Dundalk in his ancestral county of Louth and there might be a walkabout in the town. 

Mr Biden has accepted an invitation to address the Oireachtas on Thursday and he will also travel to County Mayo where he will “deliver an address to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people”. 

As Vice President, Mr Biden visited Ireland in 2016 and has often spoken of his "deep overwhelming pride" in his Irish heritage. 

Joe Biden meets President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin during a visit to Ireland as US Vice-President in 2016. Picture by: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

At a St Patrick’s Day event last year, he revealed he knew a cúpla focal and lavished praise on Ireland, describing the Republic as “a global force in culture and in the arts… a country with a past that tugs at our hearts and a future that’s going to shape the world.”

Mr Biden will return to the United States on April 14th.

Main image: Joe Biden on Air Force One. Picture by: Alamy.com