New U.S. vice-president-elect reported to have Mayo connections
THE newly-elected vice-president of the United States, Mike Pence, is reported to have Mayo links.
The Governor of Indiana's grandfather, Richard Cawley, hailed from Tubbercurry and emigrated to America in the 1920s and worked for many years as a bus driver in Chicago.
According to local sources, Cawley was related to members of the Cawley family who lived in the villages of Rooskey and Shraigh in the east Mayo town of Charlestown.
It is understood Mr. Pence visited Tubbercurry and Charlestown during summer vacations in his youth.
More detailed research of Mr. Pence's connections to the two towns is expected to be carried out locally within the coming weeks.
Born on June 7, 1959, Mr. Pence was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2000.
Born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, he graduated from Hanover College and earned a law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law before entering private practice.
After losing two bids for a congressional seat in 1988 and 1990, he became a conservative radio and television talk show host from 1994 to 1999.
Pence successfully ran for Congress in 2000 and represented Indiana's 2nd congressional district and Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013, rising to the position of chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011.
He positioned himself as a principled ideologue and supporter of the Tea Party movement, noting he was 'a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.'
In 2012 Pence was elected the 50th Governor of Indiana. He successfully advocated the largest tax cut in Indiana's history, pushed for more funding for education initiatives, and continued to grow the state's budget surplus.
In the midst of his re-election campaign for governor, Pence dropped out in July 2016 to become the vice presidential running mate for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.