Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced that original documents from the Library of Congress will arrive in Northern Ireland later this year. The documents relate to the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. They will appear in the 'Voices Across the Atlantic: The Ulster Legacy in America' exhibition at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, this autumn.

Lyons viewed the documents during a visit to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. His officials negotiated the loan over several months. This marks the first time these documents have left the USA. Items include papers on Charles Thomson from Gorteade, Upperlands, County Londonderry, who served as Secretary to the Continental Congress, and items linked to Andrew Jackson, whose parents came from Carrickfergus.

In a statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lyons detailed his recent US trip. He visited Savannah, Georgia, and presented an 18th-century Newsletter copy on ships from Belfast and Larne. He met Congressman Buddy Carter there. In Washington, DC, Lyons attended events at the UK embassy, US Capitol, and White House, alongside the deputy First Minister.

Lyons laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery on the grave of Sir John Greer Dill from Lurgan. He co-hosted a reception on Capitol Hill with the America250 Commission, attended by over 250 guests. He spoke about Ulster figures like John Dunlap from Strabane, County Tyrone, who printed the first broadside copies of the Declaration.

Tourism Northern Ireland launched the America 250 Experience Development Programme, backed by the Department for Communities' USA-NI250 Scheme. The initiative funds visitor experiences on Northern Ireland's ties to the USA around 1776. It covers Ulster-Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Irish contributions, including five Declaration signatories with Ulster family links and US presidents' genealogy.

Expressions of interest came from providers across the region. Tourism NI held a workshop with businesses and facilitators. New experiences aim to launch by end of May.