Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny will arrive in New York next week to receive an honorary degree from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and to attend the opening of the UN Summit with Pope Francis.

Kenny will start his two day visit in Connecticut on Thursday morning, September 24 with a visit organized by IDA Ireland. He will then visit the Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac in Hamden, Connecticut, and will address dignitaries, including many Irish groups, at the conferral of his honorary degree.

The following day will see Kenny attend the UN Summit where he will speak in the afternoon. He is due to attend other meetings before departing for Ireland in the evening.

President Michael D. Higgins will also be in New York at the same time. Among highlights of his trip will be an address to the UN on sustainable growth on Saturday, September 26. He will also be at the UN the following day to participate in a session hosted by the Secretary General of the UN. On Monday the 28th he will give a lecture at New York University (see accompanying article).

Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan will make his annual trip to the U.S. to coincide with UN events starting on Sunday, September 27. He is set to address the UN on Thursday, October 1, and that evening will take part in an event at the American Irish Historical Society launching an exhibition celebrating 60 years of Ireland at the UN.

Flanagan will also spend 24 hours in Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings during his five-day trip.