Addressing an estimated crowd of 25,000 people at Dublin’s famed College Green, Obama praised the “centuries-old relationship” between Ireland and America, and said he had traveled to Ireland “to reaffirm those bonds of affection.”
Despite the warm welcome, Obama departed Ireland a day earlier than planned and flew to England on Monday night instead of Tuesday to avoid any potential complications resulting from a plume of volcanic ash spreading from a volcano in Iceland.
The Ireland stop came on the first day of Obama’s six-day, four-countr
y European tour that also takes the president to France and Poland.
The state of the global economy and the tumult in the Arab world will be high on the president’s agenda during his tour, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
Later in the week, Obama plans to attend the Group of Eight meeting in France, joining the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.
Obama’s visit started, however, with a nod to domestic politics. His speech in Dublin on Monday repeatedly referenced the 19th-century flood of Irish immigration to the United States, and the contributions of the Irish to American life.
