President Joe Biden's heart is truly in Mayo
Ballina isn't the home of US President Joe Biden in any obvious sense of the word, but his visit to the town last night sure felt like a homecoming.
The excitement was palpable among the thousands of people, young and not so young, who lined the streets in the vicinity of the stage in front of St. Muredach's Cathedral, where President Biden brought his trip to Ireland to a poignant conclusion, taking to the stage after a final ever performance by one of his favourite groups, The Chieftains, and brief contributions by Ballina cathaoirleach Councillor Mark Duffy and An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Before them The Academic and The Coronas entertained a crowd that gathered from early evening in eager anticipation, and while given rapturous applause, the biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for President Biden.
On stage, the 46th President of the United States spoke of his Irish heritage, the importance of family, and the shared values between the US and Ireland.
It was a day of high emotion for President Biden in Mayo.
In Knock he had a chance encounter with Fr. Frank O'Grady, who administered last rites to his son Beau when he passed away from cancer at the age of just 46 in 2015.
President Biden, accompanied by his son Hunter and sister Valerie, spoke with Fr. O'Grady in a private capacity in the Apparition Chapel for a number of minutes.
From there President Biden travelled to the Mayo Hospice unit in Castlebar, and another poignant moment ensued as he revisited the site where he turned the sod during a private visit to the county in 2017.
A marker stone on the hospice unit grounds lays in memory of Beau Biden.
Later, at the North Mayo Heritage Centre in Enniscoe, Crossmolina, the President was presented with a brick, in a presentation case, that had been taken from the fireplace of the cottage where his great-great-great grandfather, Edward Blewitt, lived.
The connection to Mayo clearly goes back a long way.
When he took to the stage, President Biden referenced on a number of occasions the cathedral in front of which he stood.
The values he referenced – dignity, respect and most of all hope – were reinforced by the Irish ancestors who left the homeland for a better life in the United States – including Edward Blewitt who, before he left his hometown, toiled to produce bricks for St. Muredach's Cathedral.
Little did he think as he toiled away that a descendant would one day address thousands in front of that same cathedral as President of the USA. “Isn't that amazing!” said Mr. President.
Before President Biden appeared on stage, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had commented: “In this place, hope and history are often not far apart.”
Earlier again, as typical April rain was punctuated by wan sunlight on an evening when winter collided with spring, summer and fall, the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, stepped on to the stage set up directly across the Moy waters from where she grew up.
Anticipating President Biden's arrival, she summed up what the visit meant for the people of Ballina and Mayo.
“It's really important to have that sense of place,” she said.
President Biden would appear to have that sense of place.
Ballina may not be his home, but it sure seems to be where his heart is.