McAleese will visit the General Synod on Wednesday, May 14, the second day of the three day event, at about 12.45 p.m. and will meet privately for lunch with the bishops of the Church of Ireland, one of the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces. At 2 p.m. McAleese will address the full General Synod for about 10 minutes.

The 2008 General Synod will take place in the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway May 13-15 and will bring together more than 600 elected clergy and lay people from all over Ireland. The General Synod, which takes place annually, is the legislative and administrative body of the Church of Ireland and will, over the course of the three days, discuss and debate issues facing the Church and society, both nationally and internationally. There will also be a Synod Service in St. Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway on the evening of May 13. A civic reception for members of the Synod will take place the following evening. The Synod debates and the services will also be attended by representatives of other Christian churches and civic leaders.

In recent years, the Synod has met in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Armagh and (in 2007) Kilkenny. The 2008 Synod in Galway will be the first ever to take place west of the Shannon.