US President Joe Biden is set to visit Ireland next month to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Biden will visit both north and south of the border, meaning security officials on both sides are preparing to host one of the most powerful politicians in the world in a couple of weeks' time.
Defence and security analyst Declan Power said that the planning for President Biden's visit had been going on for months and reconnaissance trips have already been completed.
"Joe Biden is a wartime president. He's the nearest thing to a wartime president from the World War II era," he said.
"The minute he steps off the continental United States, the US armed forces and national security community is looking at a serious level of threat emanating to him from, particularly, the Russians," he added.
Mr Power said that while a presidential trip is a "very serious security operation", Ireland has had a few recent visits, "so there's a good corporate memory within the State".
Those who do catch a glimpse of Mr Biden at one of his stops will notice his Secret Service personnel in trench coats wearing earpieces. They may also be talking into their coat sleeves.
Mr Power said there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the Secret Service.
"There is a lot more to it than that. There are a lot more people at work within the US Secret Service, and a lot of men and women of different races and different sizes who don't stand out and who often times are mixed in with the crowd of people when the US president is on a walkabout," he said.
While a visit to Ireland is somewhat low risk compared to President Biden's recent trip to Ukraine, this visit will have stops in Ireland and Northern Ireland against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Director of the CIA during the Obama administration, John Brennan, is a first-generation Irish American.
"Given that the United States is providing a large amount of support to the Ukrainian military effort to withstand the Russian invasion, yes, I think that there would be increased efforts to make sure that any type of presidential travel overseas is going to have sufficient support and security practices in place," he said.
Mr Brennan said that the visit occurring at the same time as the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement will add extra pressure.
He added: "US officials will want to make sure that there's going to be again extensive interaction, not just with the Irish officials, but also officials in the north of Ireland to make sure that all contingencies are addressed."
Obama in Ireland
It was St Patrick's Day 12 years ago when former US president Barack Obama announced he would visit his cousin Henry Healy in Moneygall.
"We hadn't an iota what to expect, what the protocols around it were," Mr Healy said.
Prior to the visit, Mr Healy said locals noticed some preparation beginning.
"We were seeing busloads of strange faces arriving with the sunglasses on, and wearing the long trench coats that you would see in movies," he said.
He added that security officials hid a lot of information from the local community, and that they were unaware of a lot of the details even days before the visit.
"That was all top secret. We were sworn to secrecy," he stated.
Mr Healy said the village of Moneygall was adapted for optimum security.
"It is true. The manholes were lifted. The manholes were inspected, and they were welded. We had flagpoles in the village, they were welded. They made sure there were caps on top so that nothing could be put down these flagpoles," he said.
Mr Obama's distant cousin said there were some strange requests made in order to host their long-lost relation, including garda checks on those residing in Moneygall.
"We had sniffer dogs in our houses, the gardaí came in with the dog and the dog went through each room," he said.
He added: "If you had a gun that was licensed to you, they were removed and they were taken to the local garda station.
"There was a huge security operation to ensure the safety of the most powerful man in the world, coming to visit for an hour, an hour and-a-half," he said.
Mr Healy added that on the morning of Mr Obama’s visit houses were vacated.
Locals were required to re-enter the village with their passports, they also had to pass through airport-style security to queue on the street to be in with a chance of meeting Mr Obama.
Many people will remember the iconic moment when Mr Obama sipped a pint of the black stuff in Ollie Hayes pub in Moneygall.
Henry Healy said there was more going on behind the scene there too.
"As many people know, the nuclear football travels with the US president. But how many of you would have known that in Ollie Hayes’ residence behind his bar was the whole communications network in his kitchen ready in case there was an international incident," he said.
"It is an unbelievable machine to see it in operation."
