US President Barack Obama sipped a pint of stout and cuddled babies on Monday as a tiny Irish village on Monday welcomed home “a long lost cousin” with an outpouring of affection.
Hoisting a glass of Guinness at Ollie Hayes pub as fiddle music played, Obama thus began a four-nation tour of Europe with a celebration of his ancestral roots. Roars of delight from thousands of rain-lashed people lining the street greeted the president and his wife, Michelle, as their motorcade pulled to a stop in Moneygall.
The sleepy village of 300 was the birthplace of Obama’s great-great-great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, a shoemaker who left in 1850 to begin a new life in the United States.
This makes Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and Irish-American mother, one of 37 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry, and he was greeted like a long lost son. The powerful images could help his 2012 re-election campaign.
Obama will also visit Britain, France and Poland on a week-long trip in which he will discuss such issues as Afghanistan and Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the world economy and the “Arab spring” uprisings.
{{/usCountry}}Obama will also visit Britain, France and Poland on a week-long trip in which he will discuss such issues as Afghanistan and Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the world economy and the “Arab spring” uprisings.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking in Dublin after talks with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Obama paid tribute to close Irish-American ties and expressed satisfaction at economic stabilisation in Ireland.