TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN visited the 9/11 memorial site in New York yesterday evening.

The 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, as well as on the Pentagon and on board United Airlines Flight 93, saw 2,977 people lose their lives – including six Irish citizens.

After meeting yesterday with the Governor of New York Kathy Hochul, the Taoiseach walked around the north and south pools of the site, where the names of each victim are inscribed.

Flowers laid on the memorial pic.twitter.com/6mYdWJmlhy

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) September 20, 2021

Guided by Jay Weinkam, of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Taoiseach stopped to read the names of Irish people who lost their lives in the tragedy, including 46-year old Cork native Ruth Clifford McCourt.

Ruth, a Boston-based business-owner, and her four-year-old daughter, Juliana, were among the passengers aboard United Flight 175.

He laid a white rose at each of the names of the six Irish-born victims.

He also paused to admire ‘Survivor tree’, a pear tree that was discovered in the ruins of the attack, nursed back to health and placed at the memorial in 2010.

Taoiseach being shown some of the names of the Irish-Americans who died in the 9/11 attack pic.twitter.com/6qtgrrsciB

— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) September 20, 2021

Martin is in New York this week for a number of high-level UN engagements and is set to chair a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday. 

Ireland holds the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of September.

Separate to the UN Security Council event, the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will officially open today.

The event gives all 193 member states an opportunity to address the chamber.

The Taoiseach will deliver Ireland’s National Statement to the UN General Assembly on Friday.

Many of the world’s most powerful leaders are in New York for the Assembly meeting, which has resulted in a high level of security in the city.

US President Joe Biden arrived in New York yesterday. He is due to address the UN today.

He’s expected to say that the United States wants to avoid a Cold War with China, while pivoting from continuous post-9/11 conflicts to an era of US-led diplomacy.

No meeting between the US president and the Taoiseach is scheduled.

TheJournal.ie’s Political Correspondent Christina Finn will be bringing you all the latest updates from Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to New York this week.

Stay up-to-date by following @christinafinn8, @TJ_Politics, @thejournal_ie and TheJournal.ie’s Facebook page.