Joe Biden in touching exchange with An Irish Goodbye star James Martin

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.

Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.

Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond

Eric Garcia

Washington Bureau Chief

US President Joe Biden said he would boast to his daughter about having his photo taken with James Martin, one of the stars of the Oscar-winning short film An Irish Goodbye.

The film, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the ceremony last month, is a black comedy set on a rural farm in Glenmornan, a small hamlet in the west of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.

It follows the reunion of estranged brothers Turlough (Seamus O’Hara) and Lorcan (Martin) after the death of their mother.

Biden pointed out James Martin in the crowd as he spoke this week at Ulster University in Belfast, during a visit to the country for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Martin, who is from Belfast and has worked as a barista in the city, stood and bowed, while receiving applause from the audience led by the president.

Biden said: “Today Northern Ireland is a churn of creativity, art, poetry, theatre. Some of our favourite television shows and movies are filmed here, as you know.

“I got to meet James, I got my picture taken, I’m going to go home and brag to my daughter.”

As part of his four-day tour of the island of Ireland, Biden earlier met Rishi Sunak in Belfast, before meeting Irish PM Leo Varadkar in Dublin.

At the Oscars, Martin partied with Elton John, later calling him a “fantastic person who knows how to party”. He called James Corden “a good mover”.

Martin celebrated his birthday on the same night as the Oscars, with the crowd at the Dolby Theatre singing him Happy Birthday.