The president took part in a “St Patrick’s Day Community Event” live from the White House. Though the Zoom event had been organised relatively late by the administration, more than 1,000 people joined the call from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and America. A relaxed Biden looked at ease as the event got under way, chatting to staff as technical difficulties were smoothed out. But messaging from senior administration officials ahead of the meeting said that the US did not wish to take sides in the increasingly tense standoff over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland. British officials have stepped up their engagement in Washington in the past week amid a belief in London that they were losing the Northern Ireland PR battle on Capitol Hill.

Source: The Irish Times March 19, 2021 20:02 UTC