William and Kate finish first day in Ireland with a pint of Guinness

William and Kate ended the first day of their visit to Ireland with a pint of Guinness.

The Duke of Cambridge joked he was following in his grandmother's footsteps following a visit by the Queen to the Guinness brewery in 2011.

During a speech in which he also attempted some Irish, William told the invited guests who included actors, sports stars, the British Ambassador and members of the emergency services: " We are retracing the footsteps of my grandmother, who was shown how to pour the perfect pint here in 2011.

"Ladies and Gentlemen let me tell you it is not often that I find myself following The Queen to a pub!”

The Duke opened his speech with a "a dhaoine uaisle" or "ladies and gentlemen" and ended it with a "slainte" or "health" and a sip of his Guinness pint.

He added: "Catherine and I are delighted to be here tonight and are both very grateful to Robin for his generous words.

"Ireland is a country that we have both heard so much about, so we are really excited to be here with you to see it first-hand ourselves.

"In coming to the Guinness Storehouse we are both retracing the footsteps of my grandmother, who was shown how to pour the perfect pint here in 2011.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you it is not often that I find myself following the Queen to the pub.

"But I am looking forward to testing for myself the theory that Guinness tastes even better in Ireland than overseas.

"On a slightly more serious note I just wanted to thank all of you in the room for coming here this evening.

"Thank you for all that you do to support the very special relationship between our two countries.

"It has been a pleasure to meet so many of you this evening who demonstrate the breadth of our connections across the arts, sports, uniformed services, education and research, and charity sectors.

"We value it as we do your friendship and are committed to strengthening it further.

"We are very much looking forward to our next two days in Ireland, where I have no doubt we will continue to be impressed by the creativity, warmth and hospitality the Irish people have to offer.

"And now with Sene having poured me this perfect pint, I think it only right that I draw to a close."

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lay a wreath during a visit to the Garden of Remembrance, Uachtarain. Credit: PA

Earlier on Tuesday, Kate and William visited the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin, a place where the people of Ireland honour those who died fighting against the British in their struggle for independence

The visit by the royals was significant and again, William followed in the footsteps of the Queen who also visited the garden on her historic visit in 2011.