President Mary McAleese has ended her five-day trip to the United States with a walk through Harlem and a visit to a biotechnology conference to promote Irish companies.
Mrs McAleese drew a large crowd as she walked along New York's 125th Street with Congressman Charlie Rangel, the first African-American to chair the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives. They walked from Mr Rangel's office to Sylvia's Restaurant, a legendary Harlem haunt serving traditional southern cooking.
Born in Harlem and raised, from the age of six, solely by his mother, who worked as a maid, Mr Rangel left school at 16 and in 1948 joined the US army. A decorated Korean War veteran, he went back to high school and on to university before starting the political career that has made him one of the most powerful black politicians in US history.
Mrs McAleese praised Mr Rangel as an inspiring figure with an inspirational life story. "I think it's the kind of story that resonates deeply with Irish people because really it's a story of Ireland. It's a story of the overlooked, people who have had very little self-belief," she said.
Mr Rangel expressed delight at Ireland's economic success. "Now Irish people can come here because they want to come, not because they have to," he said. Earlier, the President visited mayor Michael Bloomberg at City Hall. At Mount Sinai Medical Center, she joined seven Irish biotechnology companies at Biolink USA-Ireland, a conference sponsored by Enterprise Ireland.