Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced he is bringing his parents – plus partner Matt Barrett – along for a special “family lunch” with Mike Pence and his wife Karen.
Mike Pence touched down in Shannon Airport tonight ahead of his meetings with the Taoiseach and President Michael D Higgins tomorrow afternoon.
The US Vice President was formally greeted on the tarmac at Shannon by Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, before the two senior statesmen held a private meeting.
After this, Mr and Mrs Pence were whisked away by a US Secret Service cavalcade to Trump International Doonbeg, Donald Trump’s golf resort in Clare.
They will stay the night at the US President’s property ahead of coming to Dublin tomorrow morning where Phoenix Park will be the venue for a number of engagements.
He will hop from Áras an Úachtárain, to Farmleigh House, to the official US Embassy residence, which are all within a kilometre of each other in the park.
He will meet with President Michael D Higgins first in the Áras, then on over to Farmleigh for the formal meeting with the Taoiseach, and after that it’s just across the meadow to meet with the US Ambassador, Edward Crawford, and a group of Irish and American business leaders.
Mr Pence is known for his strong views against gay marriage and homosexuality.
Mr Varadkar extended an Irish welcome to the Pence family from Dublin tonight and said he and his partner, Mr Barrett, is looking forward to lunch with the Pences.
“Vice President Pence is very welcome to Ireland, he’s bringing his family with him so what we are hoping to have tomorrow is a family lunch, involving my parents and my partner.
He added: “But I do want to say Vice President Pence - and I have gotten to know him reasonably well over the last couple of years – is a real friend of Ireland, somebody who comes from an Irish background, somebody whose father fought in the Civil War.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International is organising a disco outside the Dáil to protest against Vice President Pence’s visit to Ireland this week.
Colm O’Gorman, executive director of the charity, is organising the disco protest and he said that it s a peaceful way to register their opposition to the policies of Mike Pence and Donald Trump.
The protest is open to all, but Mr O’Gorman said the disco will be particularly welcoming to those who he feels are marginalised by the Trump Administration
“We’re inviting people who feel they have been most targeted, LGBT people, women, migrants…. the Administration seeks to dehumanise and demonise people in the most appalling ways
“We want to make it clear that we object to these type of policies.”
Vice President Pence will use the Trump hotel as his base for his Irish trip, returning home there each evening.
The US second in command has cousins in Doonbeg itself and is expected to connect with them while he is here.
He also has family roots in Tubercurry in Co Sligo, but it is unlikely he will have time to make the trip to the Connacht county.
