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Biden’s Irish Ancestral Hometowns Prepare a Heartwarming Welcome

by Andrew Wright
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Joe Blewitt is one of the busiest people in Ballina, Ireland right now. He’s been getting a lot of calls from the people living there and press from all around the world because he’s getting ready to welcome a famous family member – U.S. President Joe Biden!

Next week, President Biden is going to visit Ireland and a small town called Ballina. This place is where one of his great-great grandfathers lived before moving to the United States in 1850. A distant relative, who met Biden when he visited Ballina as vice president four years ago, mentioned that Biden promised back then he would come back if he won the presidency. According to Blewitt, Ireland runs deeply in Biden’s heart.

A 43-year-old plumber who is related to Vice President Biden was invited to the White House for St. Patrick’s Day last month. He said that it was a very exciting experience and he even got to have a private chat with the President! People often joke around with him, saying that his forehead looks like Biden’s from the mouth up! The Irish people really love and respect Biden.

Buildings in Ballina, a town in western Ireland, are getting painted anew and flags with American designs are flying from stores. This city of about 10,000 people is known for its salmon fishing.

In the middle of the town, there’s a painting of Biden with a big smile on his face that was put up last year. In history, many people who used to live in this area and County Mayo traveled to Pennsylvania. Ballina also has a special connection with Scranton which is Biden’s old home.

Anthony Heffernan, the owner of Heffernan’s Fine Foods store, said that almost every family in Ballina has some connection to the United States. During his visit there in 2016, Biden had lunch at Anthony’s store and he was very interested in learning how Ballina used to be and what it is like now. Anthony remembered that day being a big event for everybody and throughout Biden’s conversations with locals, he felt strongly connected to Ballina’s area.

President Biden is going to visit Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland next week. During his trip to Ballina, he will stand in front of an old cathedral which local people say was built with bricks that were made by his great-great-great grandfather Edward Blewitt who worked as a brickmaker and engineer.

The Irish Family History Centre states that President Biden is one of the very ‘Irish’ presidents in the U.S. – out of all his 16 great-great grandparents, a huge 10 were from Ireland! All these people left their home country during the middle of 19th century when a Great Famine happened, which sadly resulted in about 1 million deaths.

Joe Biden is due to visit a place called Cooley Peninsula in Ireland. The peninsula is around 150 miles away from Ballina and James Finnegan, Biden’s great-grandfather was born there. A lot of people had to leave the mountains and strong winds of Cooley Peninsula during the famine years and James was one of them.

“It’s so exciting here! Everyone is asking questions like ‘What is going on and when is he coming?’,” said Andrea McKevitt, who is related to Biden and a local politician.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned that President Biden wanted to showcase the strong relations between the United States and Ireland through highlighting his family ties.

One of the biggest reminders of how important Irish Americans are to US politics is a trip taken by presidents. Since John F. Kennedy, who first visited Ireland in 1963, American presidents have been welcomed warmly by the country. In 2011, president Barack Obama received an enthusiastic reception when he traveled to Moneygall, which was where one of his great-great-great grandfathers lived. While there, he joked about looking for their lost apostrophe!

More than 30 million people in America – almost 1 out of every 10 – say they have some Irish ancestry. A expert on U.S. politics, Richard Johnson from Queen Mary University of London explained that even though Irish Americans do not vote the same way as they used to, it is still a good thing for an American to talk about their Irish roots and ancestry.

Americans are drawn to Irish identity because it closely mirrors their own. Just like the Americans broke away from Britain’s control over them, Ireland too fought against British rule to establish its freedom. This shared experience makes Irish identity seem attractive to Americans.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that Joe Biden (the U.S. President) is a friend of Ireland and he’s coming to visit the country, which will be an amazing chance to honor him as a beloved Irish-American.

The people of Ballina town are planning a celebratory event for Biden’s visits—it’ll look and feel similar to St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

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