President Joe Biden, who is of Irish descent, marked St. Patrick's Day with a virtual bilateral meeting with Ireland's prime minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, keeping a traditional state visit alive amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Everything between Ireland and the United States runs deep, Taoiseach, our joys, our sorrows, our passion, our drive and our unrelenting optimism and hope," Biden said.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden met with Ireland's prime minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, on St. Patrick's Day Wednesday

  • Unlike in years past, in which Ireland's Taoiseach has a standing invitation to the White House on the holiday, the meeting was virtual

  • The Irish government sent a "beautiful engraved bowl" and shamrocks to the White House ahead of the visit, keeping the Shamrock Bowl tradition alive

  • Biden's Irish heritage dates back to the 1800's; his great-great grandparents came over to the U.S. in the mid-19th Century

"My friends from Ireland would always say, 'the American Irish think they’re more Irish than the Irish,'" Biden added. "But the truth of the matter is that we have a great affection for the country and a great affection for the tradition."

Historically, Ireland's leader has a standing invitation to visit the White House on St. Patrick's Day, but the meeting was made virtual this year, yet another reminder of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"Good to have you on television, but next year in Washington," Biden said.

But a number of the traditional trappings of the visit will still take place, including the Shamrock Bowl ceremony, which dates back to Harry Truman in 1952. This year, the Irish government sent a "beautiful engraved bowl" and shamrocks to the White House ahead of the visit.

Martin called the bowl "a symbol of the undying friendship between our two countries, a symbol of the good times we have shared, and the challenges we have endured. Always at each other's side, the green shoots, point to the brighter future."

"Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig," he added, which means "Happy St. Patricks’s Day" in Gaelic.

The president also announced that the Whtite house will be illuiminated green in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

"On St. Patrick’s Day, the United States and Ireland celebrate the historic and cultural ties that underpin our robust and longstanding partnership. Our commitment to democratic values and our shared spirit of resilience and determination are at the heart of our cooperation," the White House said in a statement.

Biden and Taoiseach Martin discussed battling the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the "deep trade and investment relationship" between the two nations, and "work together to strengthen the United States-European Union partnership."

"The policies of our two governments are very closely aligned on the big challenges the world faces, and I look forward to exploring how we can defeat the COVID-19 virus, working together, urgently to increase the supply of vaccine for our own people and for people around the world," Martin said to Biden.

"This year, as Ireland takes a seat on the United Nations Security Council, we will redouble our joint work on peacekeeping, conflict resolution, accountability mechanisms, and women’s rights," the White House said in a statement.

Biden will also reaffirmed support for the Good Friday Agreement, which ended the violence in Northern Ireland in the late 1990's, "dropping by" a meeting between Vice President Kamala Harris, and Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill. The United Kingdom leaving the European Union has increased tensions over travel and trade at the border with Ireland.

"The United States continues to support the agreement and its implementation," the White House said. "Since 1986 the United States has contributed more than $544 million to the International Fund for Ireland for projects that sustain the peace process and generate cross-community engagement and economic opportunity."

Biden started St. Patrick's Day attending mass in Wilmington, Delaware, where he stayed overnight following his stop on the "Help is Here" tour in Pennsylvania, before heading back to Washington, D.C.

Biden has also tinted the White House fountains on the North and South Lawn green, bringing back an Obama-era tradition, which pays homage to dying the Chicago River green.

The president's family history in Ireland dates back to his great-great-grandparents, many of whom were born in the country. Biden's great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan brought his family to New York in 1849, and another great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt came to the U.S. two years later. Their children, the president's maternal grandparents, Ambrose Finnegan and Geraldine Blewitt, married in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1909.

Taoiseach Martin has formally invited Biden to Ireland, which he visited while serving as Vice President in 2016. "When I invited President Biden to Ireland, he just said, 'try and keep me out.' So it won’t be any lack of enthusiasm on his side," Martin said recently.