DONALD TRUMP MAY or may not find the time to make it to Clare in the coming week – but one US political heavyweight (one who’s been elected to office, to boot) will definitely be touching down in Ireland.

Vice President Joe Biden is fond of invoking his Irish roots. And while he’s often stopped over at Shannon while on duty, this will be a more extensive visit – taking in his ancestral home counties of Mayo and Louth, in addition to official engagements in Dublin.

His ancestors left the Cooley Peninsula in 1850, and Biden grew up in a large Irish-American family in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The visit was confirmed during a speech by the Taoiseach in Washington DC in May.

“Vice President Joe Biden, you honour us with your presence tonight and we look forward to having you with us in Ireland,” Enda Kenny told the VP at the Kennedy Centre event.

You’ll see that when we say cead mile failte, a hundred thousand welcomes, we aren’t kidding.

A trusted advisor to President Obama over the pair’s two terms in the White House, Biden was chosen for the 2008 Democratic ticket as much for his folksy appeal as his substantial foreign policy experience.

He had toyed with a final tilt at the presidency this year – but, after much speculation, announced last October that he wouldn’t be throwing his hat in the ring after all.

The VP will be in Ireland between Tuesday and Sunday, his office has confirmed. It’s been reported the security bill could carry a €5 million price tag.

Read: Donald Trump will come to Ireland next week if he can find the time >