RTE's Brian O'Donovan had a funny exchange with the US President as he prepares to finish up his role as Washington Correspondent.
President Joe Biden was jumping into a helicopter on Wednesday, which appeared to be on the lawn of The White House with The Washington Monument in the background.
The 41-year-old journalist posted a video of the friendly exchange on his Twitter page with a caption detailing their quick conversation.
In the video, O'Donovan is heard shouting over the noise of the helicopter to ask Joe Biden if he had time for a question, saying: “Question about Ireland?”
The US President turned around to reply and said in a barely-audible response: “Not now, you can always talk to me about Ireland.”
President Joe Biden has spoken about his Irish roots on many occasions, which he can trace back to Co Mayo and Co Louth.
His great-great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewit emigrated to America from Ballina during the Irish famine, 170 years ago, and Biden has third cousins, the Blewitts, who still live in Ballina.
Biden’s other great-great grandfather was Owen Finnegan, from Carlingford and the Cooley Peninsula, in Co Louth who moved to America in the late 1840s and settled in Seneca, New York.
Biden visited Ireland on an official visit as vice-president in 2016 but has not yet returned as US President since his inauguration in 2021.
However, the President has indicated that he would like to make a proper state visit to Ireland and wants like to visit both Louth and Mayo and meet up with his cousins.
And RTE announced earlier this week that after four years in the role, Washington Correspondent Brian O'Donovan will be undertaking a new role in the new year.
The Corkman will be moving back to Ireland to be the national broadcaster's Work and Technology Correspondent from February.
He will "report and analyse our working lives, how they are changing and the wide-ranging developments in technology", according to RTE.
O'Donovan, who is married with two children, will replace Ingrid Miley who retired earlier this year after holding the Employment and Industry correspondent role.
He moved to the US to take up the position of Washington Correspondent in January 2018.
