The Tánaiste greeted Zelenskyy as he disembarked his plane at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, before having a “short meeting” with the Ukrainian president.

A spokesperson for Simon Harris said he’d use the opportunity to pay tribute to Zelenskyy’s “courage and resilience” and that of the Ukrainian people. It will be a “guiding inspiration to Ireland” during its presidency, they said.

Zelenskyy will have the opportunity to chat with Martin and Costa about Ukraine’s aspirations of joining the EU.

While Ukraine is not one of the 27 EU member states that make up the bloc, it is a candidate state that has begun the long accession process to join the union.

The government has repeatedly backed Ukraine’s efforts to join, with the Taoiseach previously saying Ukraine “belongs in the EU”.

Speaking this morning, Martin told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that Ukraine could “in theory” join the EU while still at war.

While full membership remains years away, Irish ministers have signaled they want to use the country’s upcoming presidency to advance negotiations with candidate countries, which also include Moldova.

Our Deputy Editor Christine Bohan has an overview of the public’s interest (or lack thereof) in the EU presidency.

“There’s a lot done, more to do on this first day of Ireland’s EU presidency: a new poll has found that 38% of Irish people have heard nothing about the presidency at all, and 46% of people have heard ‘a little’ about it (we’re going to assume that the remaining 16% are all reading this liveblog).

“The poll by More in Common has lots of interesting nuggets about Ireland’s attitudes towards Europe and the world, including that 75% of voters now prioritise closer ties with the EU over the US.

“Trust in the US has collapsed, and it is now the lowest-rated western ally with 73% of people saying they have little or no trust in the US under Trump.

“Irish people are famously pro-EU, although this poll suggests that has dropped slightly: 61% of people say EU membership is a good thing and two-thirds woud vote to remain – but people have different views of what a strong EU looks like.”

The full report, which can be found at the link above, is well worth a read. 

Here’s how the day will play out.

At midday, the Taoiseach is to hold a press conference with EU council president António Costa, where the media will have a chance to ask questions.

However, it’s understood that Costa’s flight is not set to land until 12, so the press conference will most likely be delayed.

Whenever it starts, our Political Correspondent Jane Matthews will be there to report back.

At 2pm, the official opening ceremony will be held in, you guessed it, Dublin Castle. It’s the epicentre of the EU presidency activities. 

At 5pm, Zelenskyy will join the Taoiseach for yet another press conference, where they’re expected to set out their aims for the presidency and take questions.

If you’re wondering why Zelenksyy is here on day 1 of the presidency, check out Andrew Walsh’s helpful explainer.

Zelenskyy’s plane landed at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel before 11.30am. 

Map shows the plane Zelenksyy was travelling on from Moldova is on ground in Dublin adsbexchange.com adsbexchange.com

There is a heavy garda presence around Dublin Castle today, and the city in general.

Justin Kelly, the garda commissioner said yesterday that he would be “highly surprising” if the EU Presidency passes without a major policing incident.

He said also that foreign police and security forces have arrived in Ireland to assist gardaí secure events in Dublin and in Cork.

Kelly said that much of the foreign officers will not be seen by the public and were involved in specialist areas. The Journal understands many of them will be involved in counter drone monitoring.

Good morning! Mairead Maguire here, one of The Journal’s reporters.

Ireland’s stint with the EU presidency begins today and thus commences six months of politics, pomp and high-level policing.

Zelenskyy is due to touch down in Ireland soon, while the Taoiseach is gearing up for a press conference with EU council president António Costa at midday.

We’ll bring you updates as they happen.