Melania and Donald Trump are confirmed visiting Ireland next month.
The White House had earlier announced in a statement that the President and the First Lady will be dropping by the Republic of Ireland at the invitation of Ireland's Prime Minister, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, while they are in the European continent.
In Washington, D.C., the Irish Embassy responded to the announcement with the official representative saying that "detailed arrangements" on the visit will be announced in "due course."
At the foot of the couple's three-day state visit to the United Kingdom commencing June 3, their visit to Ireland was confirmed by the White House to be in June 5. They will be touching down at the Shannon International Airport, in the town of Shannon, County Clare, sometime in the afternoon of that day.
It will be their first official visit to Ireland since United States President Donald Trump was elected to office. Melania and Donald will be met by the Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
There were some initial concerns regarding the venue of the visit, but it was later confirmed that the Shannon Airport would be most feasible for the purpose. President Trump and Taoiseach Varadkar will have their bilateral talks the same day as the Trump's arrive.
Airport officials have already confirmed that the venue is being considered as the potential meeting place for the two leaders. The VIP suite in the building has been previously utilized for official visits made to the area by foreign dignitaries, including past U.S. leaders who have gone by way of Shannon, County Clare.
While the venue has already been checked out by the team from the United States as well as the Irish gardaí, the airport management and personnel expect the finer details of the flight, including the time of arrival of the Trumps as well as their departure.
There had been some initial apprehensions from the White House, stemming from the reason for delayed announcement of the details of the trip, but it was understood that these were dealt with during the weekend. Officials close to the President as well as those in proximity to the Prime Minister met for discussions.
The unease was due to concerns on protesters, who may have misinterpreted the words of the Taoiseach in the previous week, when he was asked about the possibility of protests. Varadkar had said that those were "allowed" and "welcome" in democratic governance.
The First Couple is also expected to travel to the west of County Clare, where Trump owns a golf course in the village of Doonbeg, near Shannon. After calling on Varadkar, the U.S. President and Melania will go on to France the next day for the 75th memorial of D-Day in Normandy. There is no word on whether the couple will be returning to Shannon after this.
The President had been previously slated to make the visit to Ireland in November, however, due to some scheduling difficulties, it was put off for another time. He recently made reference to such a trip earlier in March when the two leaders previously met. This was during the St. Patrick's Day festivities at the White House.
He had talked about wanting to visit his golf course, saying he had a "warm spot" for the "great" place.
It is remembered that reports came out in April regarding a letter that Varadkar had written to Melania which have been kept confidential since, after it was cited as "international relations," grounds for it to remain top secret. The aforementioned writing is part of correspondence at the time between the Irish leader and the White House.
Varadkar's representative had later revealed that Ireland's Taoiseach had communicated via letters to the President as well as the Vice President Mike Pence last year. It was also confirmed that Mr. Varadkar had been in touch with the First Lady, however, the contents of that communication have been kept under wraps.
