The picturesque town of Ballina on the banks of the River Moy in northwest Ireland hums with activity ahead of a visit this week by its celebrated descendant, US President Joe Biden.
Biden is due to arrive in the north County Mayo town on Friday to address thousands in the place from which his family hailed before emigrating to Pennsylvania in the 19th century.
It will be one of the last stops on a tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland taking in Belfast, Dublin and other locations from the proudly Irish-American president’s family history.
Photo: AFP
Biden’s relatives still remain in the area and Joe Blewitt, the president’s third cousin, has been juggling requests from international media while doing his job as a plumber.
“It’s emotional, it’s a very proud day for our family and for Ireland,” Blewitt, 43, said of the upcoming trip. “Ballina’s very special to him.”
Biden invited the Blewitt family to his inauguration, which they were unable to make because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were in attendance last month at St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the White House.
“It’s very special, of course, and very hard to describe it, to know the president of the United States,” Blewitt said. “He’s just like ourselves. He has a sense of power off him, but he’s just an ordinary fella.”
Outside Harrison’s bar in the center of Ballina, proprietor Derek Leonard hangs red, white and blue bunting atop a ladder and drapes his pub’s windows with the US stars and stripes in anticipation of the presidential visit.
“People are buzzing, and they’re washing and they’re painting ... it’s great to see it,” the landlord said.
Inside the bar, a picture of Leonard with Biden when he visited as vice president in 2016 hangs in pride of place. The US leader had vowed to return to Ballina when he became president.
Leonard, who said with authority that his ancestors would have rubbed shoulders with Biden’s in the town, commissioned a 5m-high mural of the president when he won the 2020 US presidential election.
The bar owner said it would be a “great honor” to meet Biden again as president if he visits the mural.
The street in the center of town where Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt lived and where the mural stands is festooned with US flags, posters and banners.
Inside Ballina Costume Co, Jane Crean dutifully sews US flags for Biden’s arrival. She explained she had taken the announcement of the trip in her stride because with a French festival planned over the summer, she already had some red, white and blue bunting prepared.
“Everybody’s in party mode,” the costume shop owner said. “This will put Ballina on the map ... it’ll showcase Ballina, which is fantastic and it will bring visitors to it.”
In one sports shop window selling Gaelic football shirts, the mannequins have been dressed in NFL jerseys.
One placard tells Biden: “The kettle is on Joe, come on home.”
Ernie Caffrey, a former Irish senator and owner of a gallery and gift shop, believes his premises stands on the site of Biden’s ancestral home.
The 86-year-old said two local historians have proved that an old brick wall behind his shop, showing the clear outline of a fireplace, formed part of Edward Blewitt’s cottage.
“We’re standing beside what remains of the original Blewitt’s cottage,” he said. “It’s kind of a miracle that it’s still here because the whole town has changed in 200 years — every square inch was built on except this one.”
Speaking near St Muredach’s Cathedral, where Biden is to make an address on Friday, Mark Duffy, the leader of Ballina’s municipal council, said the president’s story resonated with people in Ireland and Irish-Americans.
“Irish people left here during famine and during oppression,” Duffy said. “That has come full circle now with a son of Ballina, an ancestor of Ballina, becoming US president and sitting in the Oval Office. So it’s a beautiful story.”
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