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[[U.S. President Joe Biden is in his ancestral home, Ireland, where he will spend the next two days meeting with leaders and family members. Earlier on Wednesday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he urged for the collapsed power-sharing government to be restored, in a speech hailing 25 years of peace in the region under the Good Friday Agreement. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story. ]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptBIDEN IRELAND (TV)
HEADLINE: Biden Voices Hope for Government Renewal in Northern Ireland
TEASER: US president promises American corporations ready to invest
PUBLISHED: 04/12/2023 at 9:32 pm
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Sharon Shahid, Mia Bush, David Jones
VIDEO SOURCES: AP, AFP, Reuters, Skype, Zoom
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:05
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TV
EDITOR NOTES: Radio track included.))
((INTRO))
[[U.S. President Joe Biden is in his ancestral home, Ireland, where he will spend the next two days meeting with leaders and family members. Earlier on Wednesday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he urged for the collapsed power-sharing government to be restored, in a speech hailing 25 years of peace in the region under the Good Friday Agreement. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story. ]]
((Motorcade and people cheering as Biden walks out, AP 4429097, AP 4429083))
((NARRATOR))
For an American president who loves to highlight his Irish heritage, it was a homecoming.
((AP 4429102))
((President Joe Biden))
"Every time I've come, the welcome, the people on the streets, they're just so gracious to us."
((Crowds, AP 4429097))
((NARRATOR))
Thousands of people lined up to catch a glimpse of Joe Biden.
((AP 4429097))
((Marguerite Howard, Dundalk Resident))
“Even though it’s raining, the sun is shining, really, in our hearts. And there’s no show like a Joe show.”
((Shots of Biden at Castle, Reuters Edit No: 4559))
((NARRATOR))
Biden toured Carlingford Castle, the last Irish landmark his great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan saw as he sailed for New York in 1849.
((Biden in deli, AP 4429083, back to pub AP 4429083/ Reuters Edit No: 4575))
((NARRATOR))
He spoke with locals, retelling the story of Finnegan and Joseph Kearney, former President Barack Obama’s great-great grandfather, both shoemakers from nearby counties who emigrated to the U.S. around the same time. [There are stories that say he’s Obama’s third great-grandfather and seventh great grandfather. Can we just call him Obama’s “maternal ancestor”?]
((MRT clip https://app.frame.io/projects/107d8a33-963a-48f0-9001-585725df7d34/98342e34-f06e-462e-84f1-4d4e7f39051c ))
((President Joe Biden))
“In all of their dreams, I'm not sure they could have imagined that 175 years later, both their great-great-grandsons would be president of the United States of America —Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”
((Biden on stage, AP 4429004))
((NARRATOR))
Earlier Wednesday, across the border in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Biden hailed ...
((VARIOUS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF TONY BLAIR AND AHERN SIGNING GOOD FRIDAY PEACE AGREEMENT, Reuters Edit No: 4286, TC 4:10))
((NARRATOR))
25 years of peace under the Good Friday Agreement ...
((Bombs in Belfast, Reuters Edit No: 4286, TC 4:10))
((NARRATOR))
that ended the conflict over whether the region should unify with Ireland or remain part of the United Kingdom.
((Biden, AP 4429004))
((NARRATOR))
He urged for the power-sharing government that has collapsed under boycott and political infighting to be restored.
((President Joe Biden))
"As a friend, I hope it's not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe democratic institutions established to the Good Friday Agreement remain critical to the future of Northern Ireland.”
((Biden, AP 4429004))
((NARRATOR))
If power-sharing is restored, he suggested more investments from American companies will come,
((Biden Sunak meeting AP 4428981))
((NARRATOR))
a message echoed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
((Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister))
“We talked about the investment potential that is there, the companies that want to invest in Northern Ireland, and I think that's incredibly exciting. It will bring growth, jobs and prosperity to Northern Ireland, and I know he shares my ambition to see institutions here back up and running. That's what people and businesses in Northern Ireland deserve.”
((Biden at Dublin fire station, AP 4429036))
((NARRATOR))
On Thursday, Biden holds talks with Irish leaders, ending his trip with a Friday night speech in Ballina, home of his paternal ancestors, on the west coast of Ireland.
((Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.))
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