One of the first children born after the Good Friday Agreement was signed 25 years ago has said that it would be "fantastic" to meet US President Joe Biden during his visit to the island of Ireland next week to commemorate the agreement's signing.
"It would be fantastic to meet Mr Biden, but at the minute I’ve just planned a dinner with some family and friends," said Kerrie Hope Patterson, who was born 25 minutes after the Good Friday Agreement was signed back in 1998.
Ms Patterson said she first realised the significance of her birthday when she was ten years old.
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"I realised it was more than just a birthday on my tenth birthday," she said.
"We did interviews and attended a gala dinner at the Europa hotel in Belfast, where they brought together a lot of the leaders from politics and the community who were instrumental in the agreement."
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Patterson’s explained that the idea for her middle name, 'Hope’, was passed on to her parents from her grandmother, because the Good Friday Agreement had offered hope to the people of Northern Ireland.
While communities across the North are facing similar issues around housing, employment and mental health, Ms Patterson, who lives and works in Dublin, is optimistic about the future and the opportunities afforded to her generation by the Good Friday Agreement.
"I’m very optimistic about the future of Northern Ireland. I know I’d be happy to move back for jobs and healthcare and education," she said.
