Taoiseach Leo Varadkar officially begins his St. Patrick's Day visit to Washington DC today.
The trip culminates with a meeting between Mr. Varadkar and US President Joe Biden on Friday.
The Taoiseach begins a three day visit to the US Capital this morning meeting with business groups in Washington.
A big focus this year on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement with American lawmakers keen to mark the agreement one of their own helped to foster.
Delegations from multiple Northern Irish political parties including Sinn Féin, the DUP, UUP and SDLP also traveling this year.
Tonight the annual Ireland Funds Gala dinner is the main event, with the Taoiseach addressing the fundraising dinner which starts at a grand a plate for entry.
Tomorrow Leo Varadkar will attend an event at Georgetown University with former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton.
However all is building towards Friday and the annual meeting with a US President who has already confirmed he intends to visit Ireland in the next month to mark a quarter century of peace in the North.
