Joe Biden's Ireland Trip Marked by Terrorism Concerns: 'The Risk Is Real'

• President Joe Biden is visiting Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark peace deal.
• The terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland has been raised to severe due to the increased activity of dissident groups.
• Biden plans to make a public address in the Republic of Ireland during his trip, but security is a major concern.

President Joe Biden is heading to Northern Ireland next Tuesday amid increased concerns about the threat of terrorism and ongoing arguments about the future of the region.

Biden will visit Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the landmark peace deal that helped to end more than 30 years of sectarian violence.

However, Biden's visit comes at a time of major concern over the future of that deal, thanks in large part to new requirements imposed by the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union (EU). There is still a real risk of terrorist attacks from dissident groups and the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland was raised to "severe" on March 28.

Northern Ireland's Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said at the time: "In recent months, we have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland Related Terrorism, which has targeted police officers serving their communities and also put at risk the lives of children and other members of the public."

"The public should remain vigilant, but not be alarmed," he said.

Nonetheless, Biden indicated that he would not be deterred from visiting, telling reporters last month: "They can't keep me out."

Biden's Security Operation

A fleet of security vehicles arrived in Northern Ireland earlier this week, including the Roadrunner—a modified six-door SUV that boasts a large satellite dome antenna on the roof.

After his visit to Belfast, Biden will travel south of the border and will make planned visits to Dublin as well as County Mayo and County Louth, where his Irish ancestors originate.

Though the terror threat is significantly less severe in the Republic of Ireland, Biden's trip will entail a major security operation. It's not clear how many Secret Service agents will accompany him but Irish news reports suggest there are concerns about security surrounding any public address by the president.

Biden has accepted an invitation to address a joint session of the Irish parliament in Dublin and and he will also give a public speech at St. Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, County Mayo on the evening of April 14.

Secret Service agents and administration officials have already been in the country checking on potential locations and considered some areas in Dublin to be too high risk for events, according to a report this week from Irish outlet BreakingNews.ie

"The men and women of the United States Secret Service are dedicated to safeguarding our nation's leaders, both at home and abroad," Jocelyn Keaveney, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Paris Field Office, told Newsweek in a statement.

The U.K. and Ireland fall under the jurisdiction of the Secret Service's office in Paris, France.

"We are thankful to have strong partnerships with our law enforcement counterparts overseas, and look forward to continuing those relationships as we work together to ensure a safe and secure environment for our protectees," Keaveney said.

The Paramilitary Threat

"Raising the level of threat is associated with dissident Republican groups," Katy Hayward, a professor at The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen's University Belfast told Newsweek.

The institute is named for former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who was a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process.

In Northern Ireland, Republican groups support independence from the U.K., while Loyalist groups are in favor of remaining part of the U.K.

"And certainly there's been a rise in the activity of those [Republican] groups. And you don't need to have many of them to increase the threat level," Hayward said. "We know that the anniversary of the agreement is of course significant because they fundamentally reject the agreement," she added.

Hayward also pointed out that Northern Ireland currently has the "attention of international leaders, the media, which is always something that terrorist groups will be attracted by."

"I think that the risk is real," she said. "Notably too, we've also got rising prominence of Loyalist paramilitaries in a very different way at the moment with masked men roaming housing estates in Newtownards as a result of loyalist feuds."

She was referring to a town in County Down where more than 30 families have reportedly fled due to feuds.

Hayward said those men "use the name of paramilitary groups and brigades" even though "primarily their activity, as is this case on the other side, relates to organized crime [and] drug dealing."

She said that the fact they're "intimidating people in broad daylight and walking around in numbers is also unnerving for people and especially for these kids to be seeing it."

"That's something that we obviously hoped wouldn't be the case 25 years on from the peace agreement," Hayward said.