Ireland Get Ready fo’ Give One Warm Aloha fo’ Biden, Da ‘Most Irish’ President since J.F.K. 🍀🇺🇸

Befo’ President Biden go visit Ireland, da locals from two towns, plus some of his ‘ohana, stay hoping he goin’ come back fo’ celebrate da ties to da ‘aina. 🌍🤙

When John F. Kennedy wen’ become da first U.S. president fo’ visit Ireland back in 1963, New Ross, County Wexford, his ‘ohana’s home, wen’ treat him like one hero coming back.🏆🎉

Richard M. Nixon wen’ meet wit’ friendly kine peeps, except fo’ da few thrown eggs, in 1970. He wen’ go check out da graves of his Quaker kupuna in Kildare.🥚🪦

Den four decades aftah, Barack Obama wen’ follow da steps of his great-great-great-grandfaddah from Moneygall, County Offaly. He wen’ joke dat da Obamas wen’ come “fo’ find da apostrophe dat we lost somewhere along da way.” 😂🔍

Jus’ like da presidents befo’ him, when Joseph R. Biden Jr. go visit Ireland next week, he goin’ get double da blessings—o’ maybe double da kine stuffs fo’ do, depends on how you look at um. His five-day schedule stay packed wit’ meetings in Ireland an’ Northern Ireland, all about da trade an’ da 1998 Anglo-Irish peace deal. But he also might go check out not jus’ one, but two ancestral homes.🏡🇮🇪

One stay in Ballina, in da western county of Mayo, an’ da oddah one stay on da east coast’s scenic Cooley Peninsula, jus’ south of da border wit’ Northern Ireland. Da locals—plenny of dem Mr. Biden’s distant ‘ohana—no scared dat dey goin’ be left out. In fact, even though da president’s schedule nevah wen’ be announced yet, dey already stay getting ready fo’ celebrate Mr. Biden wit’ all da fanfare dey can bring. 🎊🥳

Lynne Kelleher, one author of one book ’bout Ireland an’ da White House, say, “I tink it’s fair fo’ say dat Biden stay da most Irish of U.S. presidents, except maybe fo’ Kennedy.” 📚🇺🇸

As vice president an’ as one private citizen, she wen’ talk about how Mr. Biden wen’ visit da places his kupuna wen’ live befo’ dey wen’ move to America. He also wen’ keep in touch wit’ his distant cousins, an’ always quote da Irish poets in his speeches. 📜🇮🇪

“His interest in Ireland stay real genuine,” she wen’ say, adding, “Fo’ him, it’s one personal kine ting.” 💚🤗

In Ballina, da town stay getting ready. One local theatrical costume company stay making U.S. flags an’ bunting, an’ da town leaders wen’ go ask da central government fo’ money fo’ help make da streets all nice, says Mark Duffy, one Mayo County councilor an’ da chairman of Ballina’s municipal district. 🚩🎭

“Plenny excitement in da town,” says Joe Blewitt, one plumber an’ distant Biden cousin who wen’ get invited to da White House fo’ St. Patrick’s Day. He wen’ talk story wit’ da president fo’ one half-hour. He an’ Mr. Biden trace dea’ ancestry to Edward Blewitt, one engineer an’ brickmaker who wen’ leave Ballina in 1850, right aftah da great Irish Famine, an’ wen’ settle down in Scranton, PA. 🍀🇺🇸

“He stay one awesome man fo’ talk, an’ one awesome man fo’ listen,” Mr. Blewitt wen’ say ’bout da president. “No all ’bout him; he all ’bout ‘ohana. He stay one man fo’ oddah peeps. When he come again, fo’ Ireland, fo’ Mayo, fo’ da town of Ballina, goin’ be unreal!” 👏🎉

Da main part of Ballina’s celebration—an odd kine mural of Mr. Biden’s face all happy dat wen’ go up during da 2020 election—stay hidden right now cuz of construction work going on. But Mr. Duffy wen’ say dey goin’ take down da kine stuffs blockin’ da view so everybody, especially da president, can see ‘um on da big day. 🚧🎨

An’ jus’ like da oddah peeps in County Mayo, he stay quick fo’ talk ’bout da connections between Mr. Biden’s hometown an’ his own area. “Get one real connection between Scranton an’ Ballina,” Mr. Duffy wen’ say. “Peeps from hea’ wen’ go ova’ dea’ fo’ work on da railways, o’ wen’ run away from da famine an’ go straight down da coal mines.” 🚂⛏️

In Carlingford, da peeps get one claim to Mr. Biden’s aloha too: His great-great-grandfaddah Owen Finnegan wen’ leave da Cooley Peninsula fo’ New York in 1849. Andrea McKevitt, one county councilor an’ one fifth cousin of da president’s, wen’ say da whole peninsula gotta show its best side. “We goin’ be on da world stage,” she wen’ say, “an’ we gotta do wat we can.” 🌏🌟

No get any advance kine info ’bout da president’s schedule, so da local peeps stay guessing he might go check out one medieval graveyard, wea’ Mr. Biden wen’ visit in 2016 fo’ see one family grave. He also wen’ stop by Lily Finnegan’s pub close by, one whitewashed seaside inn dat used to belong to one part of his ‘ohana. 🍻🌊

But wit’ Northern Ireland only ’bout two miles away, across da narrow waters of Carlingford Lough, da peeps stay mindful dat Mr. Biden stay coming fo’ work, an’ especially fo’ focus on da 1998 peace deal, da Good Friday Agreement, dat wen’ pau da violence known as da Troubles. 🕊️✌️

“Dis whole area stay real thankful fo’ da Good Friday Agreement,” says Barra Mulligan, one local musician, electrician, an’ anoddah one of Mr. Biden’s fifth cousins. “We wen’ get our share of violence an’ trouble befo’ dat agreement wen’ sign.” 🎸⚡

Aftah Britain wen’ vote fo’ leave da European Union in 2016, da land border between da Republic of Ireland, one member of da union, an’ Northern Ireland, one part of da United Kingdom, wen’ turn into one big kine issue. If border controls, dat wen’ pau when both countries stay in da European Union, wen’ come back, some peeps stay scared dat da peace agreement could go kaput, an’ Mr. Biden wen’ tell Britain fo’ figgah ‘um out. Da kine deal wen’ come true in February, so no need fo’ da so-called hard border. 🇪🇺🇬🇧

Wit’ free movement all good now, da peeps on da peninsula stay hoping fo’ see da construction of one long-awaited bridge ova’ Carlingford Lough, which would make da links to Northern Ireland mo’ bettah. 🌉

“We goin’ call ‘um da Biden Bridge, cuz he stay making plenny contribution to peace on dis island,” Ms. McKevitt wen’ say. 🌁

Mr. Biden’s history wit’ Ireland stay strong, but American presidents an’ Irish peeps wen’ show each oddah love fo’ decades. Sometimes, oddah countries no can understand, says Ms. Kelleher, da author. 🇮🇪💚

Fo’ now, Dublin can count on da Good Friday Agreement as one rare kine agreement in da United States’ all split up politics, says Prof. Liam Kennedy, one expert on Irish American relations at da Clinton Institute at University College Dublin. 🤝

But he wen’ say da future of Ireland-U.S. relations stay mo’ up in da air. “Biden stay da second Irish Catholic president of da U.S., but wea’ da next one coming from? He could be da last hurrah of Irish American liberalism,” Professor Kennedy wen’ say. 🇮🇪🇺🇸

Still, he wen’ point out, ova’ 30 million peeps in da United States still claim Irish ancestry. “Das gotta mean sometin’,” Professor Kennedy wen’ say. “But wat?” 🤔💭

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NOW IN ENGLISH

Biden, Da Most Irish Prez Since JFK, Get Aloha from Ireland 🍀

Ireland getting ready for President Biden’s trip, an’ da locals from two towns, including some of his ‘ohana, hoping he come back to celebrate their ancestral ties. 🌍✈️

Back in 1963, John F. Kennedy was the first serving U.S. president to visit Ireland, and he was hailed as one hero in New Ross, County Wexford, where his family from.

Richard M. Nixon wen’ visit in 1970, an’ even though get some eggs thrown at him, he was greeted by friendly crowds. He also toured the graves of his Quaker ancestors in Kildare.

Four decades after that, Barack Obama went back to the roots of his great-great-great-grandfather.Now, when Joseph R. Biden Jr. visits Ireland next week, he is going be like those presidents before him, having family business on top his political schedule. He is going have meetings in Ireland and Northern Ireland, working to support trade and the 1998 Anglo-Irish peace deal, and possibly visit two ancestral homes. 🏡🕊️

One home stay in Ballina, in County Mayo, and the other on the east coast’s Cooley Peninsula, close to the border with Northern Ireland. The locals, some of them Biden’s distant relatives, aren’t scared of being ignored. Even though the president’s schedule hasn’t been announced yet, they are already getting ready to celebrate Biden with all the fanfare they can. 🥳🎉

“I think it’s fair to say that Biden is da most Irish of U.S. presidents, except maybe for Kennedy,” says Lynne Kelleher, who wen’ write one book about Ireland and the White House.

Biden, as vice president and private citizen, wen’ visit the places his ancestors lived before they went to America. He also stay in touch with distant cousins and always quoting Irish poets in his speeches. 📚🇮🇪

“His interest in Ireland stay very genuine,” she said, adding, “for him, it’s a personal thing.”

In Ballina, they stay getting ready. One local theatrical costume company making U.S. flags and bunting, and the town leaders asking the central government fo’ help with fixing up the streets, says Mark Duffy, a Mayo County councilor and the chairman of Ballina’s municipal district. 🛠️🇺🇸

“We have plenty of excitement in the town,” said Joe Blewitt, one plumber and distant Biden cousin who was invited to the White House on St. Patrick’s Day. He and Mr. Biden both trace their ancestry back to Edward Blewitt, who left Ballina in 1850, just after the great Irish Famine, and settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 🍀🇺🇸

“He’s a great man to talk to, and a great man to listen to,” Mr. Blewitt said of the president. He’s a people’s man. 🙌

Ballina’s celebration features a large mural of Biden’s face, but it’s currently hidden by construction work on the town’s Market Square. Mr. Duffy said the obstructions will be taken down temporarily so visitors, especially the president, can see it on the big day. 🎨

People in County Mayo, like Mark Duffy, are quick to talk about the connections between Biden’s hometown of Scranton and their own region. “There’s a true connection between Scranton and Ballina,” Mr. Duffy said. “People from here went there to work on the railways, or they fled from the famine and went straight down the coal mines.” 🚂

In Carlingford, residents also have a connection to Biden’s heart: His great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan left the Cooley Peninsula for New York in 1849. Andrea McKevitt, a county councilor and a fifth cousin of the president’s, said everyone must do their part to make the place look good. “We will be on a global stage,” she said, “and we have to do what we can.” 🌟

While waiting for details of the president’s schedule, local people are speculating about a medieval graveyard Biden visited in 2016 to see a family grave. He also stopped by the nearby Lily Finnegan’s pub, a seaside inn that once belonged to a branch of his family. 🍻

With Northern Ireland only about two miles away, across the narrow waters of Carlingford Lough, residents are also aware that Biden is visiting for work, particularly focusing on the 1998 peace deal, the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence known as the Troubles. 🕊️

“This whole area would have been very thankful for the Good Friday Agreement,” said Barra Mulligan, a local musician, electrician, and another of Biden’s fifth cousins. “We had our share of violence and trouble before it was signed.” 🎶

After Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland became a deeply divisive issue. Biden urged Britain to resolve the question, and a deal was finally struck in February, avoiding the so-called hard border. 🇬🇧🇮🇪

With free movement preserved, people on the peninsula are now hoping to see the construction of a long-awaited bridge across Carlingford Lough, which would further improve links to Northern Ireland.

“We’ll be looking to call it the Biden Bridge because he’s making such a contribution to peace on this island,” Ms. McKevitt said. 🌉

Biden has a strong history with Ireland, and American presidents and Irish people have been close for decades, even though other countries sometimes disapprove, said Ms. Kelleher, the author.

Looking at the future of Ireland-U.S. relations, things are uncertain. “Biden is the second Irish Catholic president of the U.S.”