ITINERARY:US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were due to leave Washington last night for an overnight flight to Ireland on Air Force One which is expected to arrive at Dublin airport shortly after 9.30am.
They will travel from there to the Phoenix Park, where their first stop will be Áras an Uachtaráin for a meeting with President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin.
Mr Obama and his wife will be invited to sign the visitors’ book.
A tree-planting ceremony will follow and two children will ring the Peace Bell.
Mr Obama will then visit Farmleigh, where he will be greeted by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his wife Fionnuala, before being invited to sign the visitors’ book.
Mr Kenny and Tánaiste Éamon Gilmore will then have a bilateral meeting with Mr Obama.
Following the meeting, Mr Obama is expected to visit US ambassador Dan Rooney at his Phoenix Park residence before leaving for Moneygall at about 2pm.
If weather conditions are not favourable, Mr Obama may travel to the Co Offaly village by road instead of helicopter.
“Whatever happens, the president is definitely going to Moneygall,” a US diplomatic source said last night. “It’s a priority for him.”
Mr Obama is expected to visit the former home of his ancestor Fulmouth Kearney, where he will be greeted by John Donovan, the owner of the house, and his family, before walking through the village and visiting Ollie Hayes’s pub.
Mr Obama will then return to Dublin.
He may stop off at the US embassy in Ballsbridge to greet staff before travelling on to College Green, where he will give a public address.
The president will stay overnight in Dublin before leaving for London tomorrow morning.