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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark Donlon

Joe Brolly's friendship with Joe Biden as pair are pictured together at the White House

Joe Brolly met US president Joe Biden in the White House during the St. Patrick's weekend festivities - and the pair have a friendship dating back five years.

Brolly took to Twitter over the weekend to post a picture of himself and a smiling President Biden meeting in the White House.

And it is not the first time the pair have crossed paths, with Brolly becoming friendly with Biden as far back as 2017.

The former GAA star and ex-pundit previously explained how he and Biden had met virtually after the latter had been confirmed as president-elect of the United States of America.

The video call which Brolly was included in took place back in November 2020.

He said: "I was very privileged to be on a speaker call with the (Biden) family in their home in Delaware the day after the election had been called.

"Basically I said congratulations."

The St. Patrick's weekend meeting between the two inspired Brolly to post a picture of himself and the US president with the caption reading: "Two Irishmen walk into the Whitehouse..."

Joe Brolly meets US president Joe Biden in the White House (Twitter/JoeBrolly1993)

Brolly explained that his previous link with the US president was through collaboration on the opening of a hospice facility in County Mayo five years ago.

President Biden visited Ireland in 2017 and turned the first sod of a €10 million construction of Mayo's first hospice in Castlebar, and it was at that point the pair met for the first time.

He continued: "I got to know him through the (Mayo) Hospice and we've become friendly".

At the time, Biden said he was 'honoured' that the hospice would be forever linked his late son Beau, who died in 2015 after a two-year battle with cancer.

His son Beau had planned to accompany him in his previous 2016 Ireland visit with President Obama, making the trip 'bittersweet' for Biden.

Mr Biden has family connections in Mayo, and his cousin Laurita Blewitt was the fundraising manager for the hospice's foundation.

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