A PLACE FOR REFUGEES
AS Pope Francis became the latest dignitary to plant a tree at Áras an Uachtaráin, the small number of close aides invited to witness the ceremony included a Syrian family who came to Ireland as asylum seekers.
The Pontiff followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II who planted an Irish oak on the same lawn in 1979.
Other dignitaries who have planted trees on the lawn at Áras an Uachtaráin include John F Kennedy in 1963, Queen Elizabeth in 2011 and President Barack Obama, also in 2011.