Bernie Sanders to visit Ireland for Dalkey Book Festival

US senator Bernie Sanders will speak at the Dalkey book festival in Dublin in June when he visits Ireland for the first time.

Mr Sanders, who lost out to Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primaries last year, will appear at an event in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on June 4th.

The Vermont politician (75) pledged universal healthcare, free college education and to challenge Wall Street institutions.

Tickets for the Dublin event, which will see Irish economist David McWilliams interview Mr Sanders, go on sale this Friday for €15. The talk will be the first time the long serving senator has visited Ireland.

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Mr Sanders’s brother, Larry, lives in the UK where he contested the 2016 general election as a Green Party candidate.

The Dalkey book festival will be held on the following weekend in the south Dublin suburb, beginning on Thursday, June 15th, and running until the following Sunday. Other speakers include authors John Banville and Paul Howard, comedian PJ Gallagher, and oscar winning director Neil Jordan.

Mr Sanders will speak about his alternative vision for American politics and the growing opposition to president Donald Trump.

Mr Sanders has been one of Mr Trump’s most outspoken critics. The senator heavily opposed the president’s nomination for the White House secretary of education position Betsy DeVos, when she appeared before the US SenateMr Sanders said she was chosen because of the large donations her family made to the Republican party.