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# the chieftain
'We'd like to honour our graceful leader': Enda gets a shout-out from Bono in Chicago
Enda’s on his farewell tour as Taoiseach – and happened to be in Chicago at the same time as the band.
TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY kicked off his ‘farewell’ US trip with a bang on Sunday, as he attended a U2 concert in Chicago
Bono even paid tribute to their VIP guest from the stage of Soldier Field, where the band were appearing as part of their Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour.
The U2 frontman appeared to struggle to explain the term ‘Taoiseach’ to the crowd at first.
The man we call Taoiseach, which I think might mean head of the house or something like that … The chieftain of our country is here tonight!
He’s here with us on the job. He’s here tonight because he knows Chicago can throw a party!
As the band began a song, he told the stadium crowd:
We’d like to honour our graceful leader.
Kenny was straight back to business yesterday morning, where he delivered two speeches, the first at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs and the second to business leaders at the Ocean Cut restaurant to mark the opening of Enterprise Ireland’s new Chicago office.
During a discussion at the Chicago Council, Kenny expressed his disappointment at US President Donald Trump’s stance on the Paris agreement.
The decision to pull out of the climate deal was “disappointing to put it lightly,” he said, according to RTÉ - adding that you couldn’t “ignore the accuracy of scientific facts”.
The main focus of Kenny’s trip is the links between Ireland and America.
Kenny announced a referendum to grant Irish citizens abroad the right to vote in Irish presidential elections, last March.
He emphasised the importance of bringing the undocumented Irish living in America “out of the shadows”.
