- US President receives huge cheers from 2,000 young people in Belfast
- Uses speech to urge them to secure lasting peace in Northern Ireland
- Introduced by wife Michelle, with daughters Sasha and Malia looking on
Barack Obama today received huge cheers in Northern Ireland as he asked a room for of teenagers: 'What's the craic?'
To the delight of an audience in Belfast, the US President said the popular Irish phrase being used by students 'lounging in cafes' was proof that peace in the province was working.
Teenagers clutched camera phones as he was introduced on stage by wife Michelle Obama, who told the audience of youngsters that they should set their sights high.
Speech: US President Barack Obama addressed thousands of young people in Belfast before travelling on to the G8 summit
Tribute: Mr Obama hailed the 'sheer bloody genius' of a new peace in Northern Ireland after years of conflict
Cheers: The US President delighted the crowd of mostly school pupils with his reference to 'what's the craic?'
Mr Obama gave a serious speech on securing long-lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and how the Good Friday peace agreement was a 'blueprint' for ending conflict around the world.
But he also cracked several jokes, attracting the adoration of 2,000 young people at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
Invited guests at the speech spent several hours queuing to get through tight police checks before the US President's huge motorcade arrived in the city.
Mrs Obama told the crowd: 'Wherever we go, no matter what is on our plate, we always do our best to meet young people.'
ON THE FRINGE: MICHELLE OBAMA'S BAD HAIR DAY HANGS OVER SPEECH
Michelle Obama's fringe was the subject of debate on Twitter after she appeared to have trouble keeping it out of her eyes while giving a speech.
The First Lady changed her fringe - or "bangs" as it is known in the US - to a shorter straight cut earlier this year.
it was her growing locks that got cyberspace talking while she gave a televised speech in Belfast as part of the G8 summit today.
One user Nessa O'Mahoney (@Nessao) tweeted: 'Michelle Obama is a terrific speaker this morning. Inspirational. Why do I desperately want to give her a hair clip?'
Another user called Brennan McKeag (@brennanmckeag) added: 'Michelle Obama's fringe annoyed me the whole way through her speech, why didn't she just sweep it off her face!?'
The speech saw the First lady urge around 2,000 schoolchildren, university students and graduates to step outside their comfort zones, challenge the status quo and help create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
Arriving on stage the President apologised for the scale of his entourage and security operation. 'I cause a big fuss wherever go,' he said.
He also recalled visiting Moneygall in Ireland in 2011, where he met his eighth cousin Henry - he he dubbed 'Henry the Eighth'.
He joked that he new his cousin must be a blood relative 'because his ears flapped out, just like mine.'
Fifteen years after the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement which cleared the way for the power-sharing executive in Belfast, the US president said the world was watching for the next stage of the process.
In a speech at the Belfast's Waterfront Hall, he said: ‘The terms of peace may be negotiated by leaders, but the fate of peace is up to you.'
He said Belfast was now a 'different city'. He added: 'Visitors come from all over to see an exhibit at the MAC, a play at the Lyric, a concert here at the Waterfront Hall.
'Families crowd into pubs in the Cathedral Quarter to hear trad. Students lounge at cafes asking each other "what's the craic?"'
David Cameron, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness last week announced plans to demolish so-called ‘peace walls’ in Northern Ireland within 10 years.
President Obama backed an end segregated schools and housing.
He said: ‘If towns remain divided - if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can't see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden - that too encourages division and discourages cooperation.'
He added: 'Peace is not just about politics. It is about attitudes, a sense of empathy and breaking down barriers in hearts.'
Hugs: The President was introduced on stage by his wife Michelle Obama
Smiles: First Lady Michelle Obama introduced her husband, urging the school children to believe they could achieve anything
Pictures: Students armed with mobile phones and iPads took photographs of Mrs Obama as she spoke in Belfast
Historic: First Minister Peter Robinson (left) and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (right) pose with President Obama and wife Michelle at the Waterfront Hall
OBAMA'S IRISH ROOTS
Barack Obama's great-great-great grandfather was a shoemaker in Moneygall and his son, Falmouth Kearney, left for New York in 1850.
Mr Kearney arrived in New York with his brother-in-law William and wife, Margaret Cleary, and they were destined for Ohio.
He had 10 children and later settled in Indiana as a farmer.
Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, was a descendant of one of Mr Kearney's daughters, Mary Ann Kearney, and Jacob William Dunham.
In Moneygall, although generations have passed, blood ties with the president still remain.
U.S. and Irish genealogists have detected several other distant Irish cousins of Obama living in Ireland and England, including Dick Benn and Ton Donovan, whose families live just across the border in County Tipperary and have farmed the same land for 250 years.
Mr Obama acknowledged the challenges that exist. He said: 'There are still people who have not reaped the rewards of peace, there are those who are not convinced that the effort is worth it.
'There are still wounds that have not been healed and communities where tension and mistrust hangs in the air. There are walls that still stand, there are still many miles to go.'
He said it was within his audience's power to change that. 'Whether you are a good neighbour to someone from the other side of past battles, that is up to you,' he warned.
'Whether you treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve, that is up to you.
'Whether you let your kids play with kids who attended a different church...that is up to you.'
The president made a direct appeal for the young people in the audience to do all they could to ensure that Northern Ireland's peace was lasting.
He said: 'Peace is indeed harder than war. It's constant fragility is part of its beauty. A bullet need only happen once but for peace to work we need to be reminded of its existence again and again and again.
'We must remind us of the existence of peace. Remind us of hope again, again and again that despite resistance, setbacks and despite hardship, despite tragedy... You need to remind us of the future.'
Laughs: Although the speech was about the serious business of securing peace, the US President cracked several jokes
Animated: During President Obama's speech he told the audience to focus on the future and saluted the crowd during a standing ovation
Peace: The Good Friday Agreement could be used as a blueprint to resolving conflict elsewhere, Mr Obama said
Mr Obama also pledged America's continued support for Northern Ireland. 'For those who choose the path of peace, the United States of America will be with you every step of the way. We will always be a wind at your back.
'This little island inspires the best of things. For this little island the best of days are yet ahead,' he said.
After the speech for Obama travelled to the Lough Erne resort in Enneskillen for the G8 summit.
He is expected to launch formal talks on a new trade deal between the US and Europe.
He is expected to launch formal talks on a new trade deal between the US and Europe.
But the two-day meeting is expected to be dominated by global divisions over Syria.
Mr Obama is ready to arm opposition forces but Russian President Vladimir Putin used a press conference in Downing Street yesterday to warn the rebels ‘eat the organs’ of their enemies.
Waves: President Obama and First Lady Michelle bid farewell to the audience in the Waterfront Hall
Crowds: The President and First Lady took time to shake hands and speak to dozens of children in the hall
Student: Mrs Obama was introduced on stage by 16-year-old Hannah Nelson who impressed the US administration with an essay on the peace process
Mr Obama made no reference in his speech to Syria, but suggested the resolution of the conflict in Northern Ireland was a 'blueprint' to bringing about peace to other countries.
He said: 'You need to get this right. You set the example for those who are seeking peace to end conflicts of their own.
'You are their blueprint to follow. You are the proof of what is possible. Hope is contagious. They are watching to see what you do next.'
Air Force One had touched down at Aldergrove International Airport, 20 miles north of the city, at 8.35am amid the biggest security operation ever mounted in Northern Ireland.
Talks: President Barack Obama waved as he arrived at Belfast's Aldergrove International airport with his daughter Sasha
Arrival: President Obama was seen walking down the steps of Air Force One with his Sasha
Family: The US President is attending the G8 summit, but his wife Michelle, and daughters Malia (left) and Sash (right) are due to tour Belfast
Mr Obama emerged on the steps of the plane with youngest daughter Sasha.
He was flown by Marine One helicopter to George Best Belfast City Airport and then travelled by road to the Waterfront Hall convention centre a mile away.
Hundreds of police 4x4s lined the streets, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter patrolled the skies over the city and specialist boat units kept watch from the River Lagan.
Thousands of extra police officers were deployed to the province ahead of the G8 summit, including 3,600 from other forces in England and Wales.
The two-day G8 summit will see the Lough Erne resort in Enniskillen host Mr Obama, Mr Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian premier Stephen Harper, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Security: There was a major police presence in Belfast as President Obama's motorcade arrived outside the Waterfront Hall
Police: Mr Obama praised a new sense of peace in Northern Ireland but warned one bullet could end it
Syria is likely to dominate the agenda, with attendees as far away from agreement as ever.
In a round of TV interviews at Lough Erne, David Cameron said: ‘Let's be clear - I am as worried as anybody else about elements of the Syrian opposition, who are extremists, who support terrorism and who are a great danger to our world.
‘The question is what do we do about it? My argument is that we shouldn't accept that the only alternative to Assad is terrorism and violence.
‘We should be on the side of Syrians who want a democratic and peaceful future for their country and one without the man who is currently using chemical weapons against them.
‘What we can try and do here at the G8 is have further pressure for the peace conference and the transition that is needed to bring this conflict to an end.’
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