Ulster Scots community welcome tributes from US President Joe Biden for role their forebears played in creation of United States of America

"The family ties, the pride in those Ulster Scots immigrants who helped found and build my country... they run very deep, very deep,” he said.

"Men born in Ulster are among those who signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honour for freedom’s cause.

"The man who printed the revolutionary document was John Dunlap. He hailed from County Tyrone. And countless, countless others established new lives of opportunity across the Atlantic. Planting farms, founding communities, starting businesses, never forgetting their connection to this island."

Matthew Warwick, Education Officer with the Ulster-Scots Community Network, said the comments were welcome recognition of "the vital role" played by the Ulster-Scots in the US.

"The Declaration of Independence, the formation of the Bill of Rights and framing of the Constitution have been heavily influenced by people of Ulster-Scots descent and around 20 US Presidents can trace at least one ancestor back to Ulster-Scots emigrants,” he said.

"When we watched Air Force One touch down at Aldergrove, we saw the Seal of the President of the United States proudly emblazoned on its fuselage. Do many people in Northern Ireland today know that emblem was devised by an Ulster-Scot- Charles Thomson - who was originally from Co Londonderry? "The President's words are a timely reminder that we are a vibrant community with a global legacy that should be appreciated at home and abroad."

Ulster-Scots activist and historian Nelson McCausland agreed that the Ulster-Scots played a vital role in the US.

"During the 18th century as many as 250,000 Ulster folk, overwhelmingly Protestant and predominantly Presbyterian, crossed the Atlantic, and became known in America as the Scotch-Irish," he said. " They were to the fore as American patriots and I often refer to them as the 'foremost sons of liberty'.

"We will now want to see such warm words turned into actions and I know that the Ulster-Scots Community Network will be engaging with US representatives to see how their culture and identity can be better supported."