When Joe Biden delivers a historic speech to the Irish parliament next week, his secret service agents won’t be there.
The armed bodyguards are an omnipresent fixture of any presidential visit but have been banned from the chamber of the Dáil in Dublin.
The American secret service wanted armed agents inside the chamber when Mr Biden gives his speech during a four-day visit to the Republic.
But, in a legacy of Ireland’s bloody civil war, guns are not allowed in the room, which triggered intense talks after the US demand a fortnight ago.
A possible compromise has been found where there will be no armed agents in the chamber but bodyguards will be able to stand ready behind an open door during the speech.
They will be only two metres away from Mr Biden and ready to respond to any threat to the president, who is fiercely proud of his Irish roots.
“They will have eyeballs on him through the door being ajar and will be able to react within two seconds – not that anything is going to happen,” a senior source told the Irish Independent.
“The policy is that there are no guns allowed in the chamber. That is a historical hangover from the Civil War.”
One source said the US Secret Service had argued that their responsibility was to the president “rather than respecting any local ordinances”.
Another ultimately disregarded suggestion was to post agents in the press gallery overlooking where the president would address the two houses of the Irish parliament.
The Irish Independent reported it was hoped that the compromise had been found but that the plan was not fully signed off by the Secret Service.
It is understood that the Secret Service will be allowed to carry guns elsewhere in Ireland and elsewhere in Leinster House, which is Ireland’s parliamentary building.
Exceptions to the ban on firearms inside Leinster House have been made for US presidents in the past, according to the newspaper.
Mr Biden arrives in Northern Ireland on Tuesday for a brief visit before travelling to Ireland on Wednesday.
During a trip that is expected to last until Saturday, Mr Biden is expected to visit his ancestral homes of Lough and Mayo, as well as Dublin.