Sir Keir Starmer’s will arrive in Dublin on Saturday, becoming the first British prime minister to visit the Republic since the height of the Brexit negotiations.
The Labour leader is expected to fulfil a number of engagements alongside Taoiseach Simon Harris, including the Republic of Ireland versus England soccer international at the Aviva Stadium .
His visits comes as Britain seeks to mend the damage to its relationship with Dublin and the EU cause by the aftermath of the 2016 vote to sever ties with Brussels.
The last British prime minister to visit the Republic was Boris Johnson in 2019, at the height of diplomatic acrimony over Brexit.
Sir Keir has already signalled that he wants to repair relations damaged by negotiations around the withdrawal agreement.
When he met the taoiseach at Chequers in July, he said it was time to “move on to the next chapter, for stronger and deeper ties between both countries”.
Relations were further strained by the Irish government’s legal challenge against the British government’s legacy legislation.
Irish News columnist and Slugger O’Toole deputy editor David McCann said the prime minister’s visit represented a “notable step forward in the thawing of relations between London and Dublin”.
“Obviously things were very strained in the years following the UK’s 2016 EU referendum, with the Irish government very much fighting Brussels’ corner,” he said.
“The Starmer administration is keen to reset the relationship with the EU and Ireland, and this is all part of that steady process.”
