At the end of his visit to Ireland, US President Joe Biden was celebrated by many thousands of people in County Mayo in the northwest of the island. Biden visited the area where some of his ancestors hail from on Friday as the final stop of a three-day stay. In Ballina, Biden said goodbye in the evening with a big performance and a very personal speech. In it he also praised Eire’s commitment to combating hunger and the climate crisis.
“I had to come here,” said Biden in the small town of just 10,000 residents. “It feels like coming home. It really does.” Biden chose St. Murdeach’s Cathedral in Ballina as the backdrop for his speech. Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather had once supplied 27,000 bricks for the pillars of the nave. From the income he was able to finance the passage to America for himself and his family. Biden shared the story of the bricks at his performance, saying, “I got my hands on one of these today.” Referring to his great-great-great-grandfather, he said, “I doubt he ever imagined his great-great-great-grandson returning as President of the United States 200 years later.”
According to the White House, 27,000 people gathered for the speech – the same number as bricks were delivered at the time. “There’s no show like the Joe show” read a billboard on the road leading into town. And Biden did put on a show for the small town: when the presidential entourage helicopters swooped in, a helicopter flew right over the city center cathedral and the crowd lining the promenade along the River Moy – many suspecting the president himself was sitting in it. The riverside church was illuminated with huge floodlights. A light show and band performances accompanied Biden’s speech.
“Over the years, the stories about this place have become part of my soul,” Biden exclaimed to the ecstatic crowd. He arrived in Ireland on Wednesday – for more than just an official visit with political talks. The US President went in search of traces of his own origins and celebrated Irish-American friendship and immigration history.
In downtown Ballina, decorated with flags, people had lined up in a kilometer-long queue hours before the guest arrived, despite the rain. “It’s like a fairy tale, like a movie,” gushed 30-year-old Owen Gardiner. Maire Ní Chathail, who is over 80, didn’t want to miss Biden’s performance either. The devout Catholic was impressed by the President for speaking so openly about his love for Ireland and his faith. “He’s a very genuine person,” she said.
With performances by the Irish folk group The Chieftains and the rock bands The Coronas and The Academic, there was already a festival atmosphere before the speech. Beforehand, Biden visited the Marian shrine of Our Lady Knock, which, like Ballina, is in County Mayo. Popes Francis and John Paul II had also been guests there. According to a BBC report, Biden cried when he met the priest in the pilgrimage site who had given last rites to his son Beau, who died in 2015. The encounter felt like a sign from heaven, Biden later said in his speech.
The regular churchgoer is only the second Catholic incumbent in the White House after John F. Kennedy. The Democrat may also be hoping for votes from the many US citizens of Irish origin through the visit to Ireland. The 80-year-old has not yet made a definitive statement as to whether he wants to run again in the 2024 presidential election.
Biden praised the country’s commitment to fighting hunger and the climate crisis. Ireland has not forgotten its own famine in the 19th century and is playing an important role in combating food shortages today, Biden said in a speech in the village of Ballina in northwest Ireland on Friday evening.
The country is also promoting renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and “green jobs”, thereby contributing to the fight against climate change. “I’ve never been so optimistic about what we can achieve if we stick together and stick to our values,” said Biden in the middle of a big stage show in front of thousands of spectators in the 10,000-resident town. “This is a time of tremendous opportunity.” The USA and Ireland are deeply connected on many levels, through their history and their common sense of hope.
At the end of his three-day visit to Ireland, US President Joe Biden praised the country’s commitment to fighting hunger and the climate crisis. Ireland has not forgotten its own famine in the 19th century and now plays an important role in combating food shortages. The country is also promoting renewable energies, sustainable agriculture and “green jobs”, thereby contributing to the fight against climate change. “I’ve never been more optimistic about what we can achieve if we stick together and hold on to our values,” Biden said. “This is a time of tremendous opportunity.” The USA and Ireland are deeply connected on many levels, through their history and their common sense of hope.