President Joe Biden applauds Oscar winner James Martin during Ulster University speech

Oscar winner James Martin received a round of applause during a speech by US President Joe Biden.

Mr Biden made a keynote speech at Ulster University in Belfast city centre to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

During the address he paid tribute to James Martin who is the first actor with Down's Syndrome to win an Oscar.

He starred in the film, 'An Irish Goodbye' which won Best Short Film on stage.

On Wednesday, President Biden reflected on the progress made in Northern Ireland since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago.

The US President said Northern Ireland is "a churn of creativity, art, poetry, theatre, some of our favourite television shows and movies are filmed here, as you know.

"I understand the star of the recent Oscar winning film, and someone from a Belfast barista, is here today - James Martin."

The audience in Belfast then broke into applause for the actor who was sitting in the crowd.

Mr Biden continued: "I got to meet James and I got my picture taken with him."

The President added that he will "brag" to his daughter about meeting the celebrity.

Speaking to UTV after meeting Mr Biden, James Martin said "it was nice to have a picture taken with him today.

"He gave me my full title, an actor James Martin, so I must be important," he added.

Mr Martin said that meeting him in-person was a "pinch me right now" moment.

The President officially opened Ulster University's new £350m campus in the city centre on Wednesday morning.

Earlier in the day he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as leaders of Stormont's largest political parties.

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