Senator Edward Kennedy arrives today on a visit to Northern Ireland where he will deliver a major speech on the peace process. Security for the senator will be tight in view of recent violence.
His only public event will be tomorrow at the Guildhall in Derry where he will deliver the Tip O'Neill Memorial Lecture. The address is in honour of the late Speaker of the US House of Representatives after whom a chair has been established in Magee College, which is part of the University of Ulster.
On Saturday Senator Kennedy will have private talks in Belfast with members of political parties and then travel to Dublin where he will meet the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. He will stay with his sister, Mrs Jean Kennedy Smith, US ambassador to Ireland.
On Sunday the senator will meet the President, Mrs McAleese, before he returns to the US.