By Michelle Crean

A Killarney photographer was one of the first in the country to capture American President Joe Biden as he stepped onto Irish soil on Wednesday afternoon.

Julien Behal pictured in front of Air Force One after it landed in Dublin Airport on Wednesday.

UP CLOSE: Photographer Julien Behal from Woodlawn was within touching distance of United States President Joe Biden as he met with members of the public at Dublin Airport on Wednesday.

Julien Behal from Woodlawn was front and centre of the action as he was the official photographer during the Irish leg of the Presidential visit.

The 46th President of the United States of America arrived to Belfast on Tuesday as part of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

On Wednesday he travelled to Dublin Airport where he was greeted by family and friends of US Embassy staff at the Fire Station, by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Ambassador of the United States to Ireland H.E. Claire Cronin, and Ambassador of Ireland to the United States H.E. Geraldine Byrne Nason.

But it was Julien who got the first glimpse as the president descended Air Force One.

Julien, who now lives in Dublin, runs Julien Behal Photography and regularly works for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

With a team of six they covered the three-day visit to Ireland with Julien covering the airport and then sorting through thousands of images taken by the photographers each day before sending them to world media agencies such as Reuters.

And it's not his first time photographing Biden as Julien was hired as the official photographer during his visit to Ireland in 2015 when he was Vice President.

"It's such an honour, a good privilege to be asked," Julien told the Killarney Advertiser this week.

"I was at the airport on an elevated stand and it was lashing. It was just like the movies. They come off the back of the plane and they all stand in different directions around the plane. Then there's a big motorcade. It's blink and you miss it."

Next Julien was in the fire station where the US President greeted waiting guests.

"I got very close to him, I could have put my hand out and touched him, but I wouldn't have done that."

In March 2020 Julien's company got the Royal seal of approval when it was also chosen as the only agency to officially photograph the Royal visit and were subsequently distributed to Sky News, the BBC, ITV and other news outlets.