Sightseeing, sweet treats and sodden weather as Joe Biden visits Louth

A banner reading “Dundalk welcomes President Biden” greeted the presidential cavalcade as it wound its way through Clanbrassil Street, and the town certainly delivered a memorable céad míle fáilte that neither the president or locals will ever forget.

Earlier in the day, President Biden’s first engagement in Louth was a trip to Carlingford on the Cooley Peninsula.

Due to the weather, the president was forced to abandon plans to fly from Dublin airport to the Cooley Kickhams football pitch aboard the  Marine 1 helicopter, instead opting to travel by motorcade in “The Beast” presidential car.

All nine tonnes of the presidential car, complete with a bullet proof exterior and six inch thick windows, appeared anachronistic amongst the quaint tea shops and mediaeval buildings of Carlingford.

Locals came out in force braving the wind and rain standing on bridges overlooking the motorway as well as lining road sides leading into the town.

The seaside town was awash with red, white and blue with bunting crisscrossing its narrow streets.

On arrival at Carlingford Castle, he was welcomed by Tánaiste Micheál Martin, rugby legend Rob Kearney and more crowds, many holding posters and waving US flags.

Referencing the president’s ancestral links to the area, one poster read: “Welcome home cousin Joe”.

Some locals had begun gathering hours in advance, hoping to get a good view of the man himself.

Joined by his son Hunter and sister Valerie, Biden, wearing a navy baseball cap, was given a tour of the 12th century Carlingford Castle by Gerry Hoey and Yvonne Keenan from Carlingford Heritage Centre and was treated to a welcome performance of a composition entitled “Biden returns” by the Carlingford pipe band. 

The castle offers a view of Carlingford Lough where Mr Biden’s great-great grandfather Owen Finnegan left during the famine in 1849 for  the United States.

As Mr Biden walked around the castle amid the rain, someone shouted up to ask him what he thought of the weather, to which the president retorted: “It’s fine, it’s Ireland.”

“Feels wonderful, just like I’m coming home!” Mr Biden shouted down to reporters as he looked out from a ledge of the castle onto Carlingford Lough.

A visit to Kilwirra Cemetery where the President had previously paid a visit on his last trip to the Wee County, was ruled out at the last minute due to the wet weather.

“He’s very family orientated,” said Mr Hoey of Carlingford Heritage Centre.

“When he came in, I was a bit apprehensive. It’s not every day we have the President of the United States here.”

But he said he gave people his time and signed a photo of his grandson Thomas.

Amanda Stewart-McClean, a piper in the Carlingford Pipe Band who played music for Mr Biden as he arrived at the castle, said “it was so good” to be a part of the event.

“It’s something I’m never going to be able to get to do again in my lifetime.

“It was such a privilege to be asked to do it,” she said.

Luisa and her daughter, Siobhan Murray, from nearby Ravensdale, were delighted to catch a glimpse of Mr Biden after he visited the castle and got a gift from the Secret Service for their hospitality.

“It’s funny, they all needed to use the bathroom,” Siobhan said, while standing in the doorway of their aunt’s house.

As the president left Carlingford and headed towards Dundalk, members of An Garda Siochana and the Secret Service availed of their restroom facilities, they said.

Luisa, wearing a green jumper with the US flag on it, welcomed them in to use the bathrooms, and as a thank you, they were given a Secret Service pin.

“It was really good fun,” Siobhan said, smiling.

Making his way from Carlingford, the president arrived in Dundalk where expectant crowds got a brief respite from the persistent rain just as he was arriving.

Thousands had been lining Clanbrassil Street since early evening, undeterred by the gloomy weather and hoping to catch a glimpse of the second US president to visit the town in the last twenty-five years.

While not quite as large as the 60,000 strong crowd who welcomed President Clinton in December 2000; the jubilant locals made sure Louth’s long-lost son received a welcome that was just as warm. 

A chorus of “Welcome home Joe,”  could be heard as the president exited “The Beast” flanked by a retinue of secret service agents.

He spent a good ten minutes taking selfies, shaking hands and even stopping to talk with some well wishers, memories which will be passed down from generation to generation in the decades to come.

All of this took place under the watchful eye of sniper teams from the garda Emergency Response Unit and Irish Army who were positioned at intervals atop the roofs of buildings in and around Clanbrassil Street.

Next stop for the president was McAteers Food House on Clanbrassil Street, where he bought lemon meringue, chocolate eclairs, bread and butter pudding, pear and almond cake, as well as a mug with an image of a dog on it.

Jerome McAteer said he was “honoured” to host Mr Biden for a short time in The Food House, where the president treated himself to some sweet goods.

He paid with a 50 euro note and gave a ten euro tip to some of the workers who have special needs, Mr McAteer said.

After spending nearly half an hour talking with staff, the president exited to further cheers and waving before the presidential motorcade crawled further down the newly power washed street into Dundalk, stopping this time at the Windsor Pub and Restaurant. 

A reception was held inside with President Biden making a speech in front of his distant relatives before meeting with a number of dignitaries, including Oireachtas members, Louth County Council elected representatives, and Louth County Council officials.

Security was tight in the popular Dundalk pub as media were ushered in and scanned by secret service agents.

“Coming here feels like coming home” is how the president described his visit and a homecoming was certainly what he got as he was introduced by Taoiseach Micheál Martin to a gathered crowd of distant relatives including local councillor Andrea McKevitt, John Own Finnegan and rugby star Rob Kearney.

“I said last time I was here in a sense I know why my ancestors [left] during the famine but you know, when you’re here you’d wonder why anybody would want to leave, I mean it.”

He continued:

“I wish my mom Catherine Eugenia Finnegan were here today. She’d be so damn proud, Louth held such a special place in her heart. 

“Every time I’ve come, the welcome from the people in the streets has been so gracious.”

“I’m so proud to be here. So proud to be in Louth,” he proclaimed. 

The President’s speech drew on anecdotes from his youth when his grandparents would impress upon him his Irish heritage and his own family’s emigration for Louth over 170 years before. 

He told how his grandfather had never been to Ireland, but “he raised his family with a fierce pride in our Irish ancestry.” 

He further told of his pride when he found out his second granddaughter was to be given the name Finnegan.

However, his message was also one of hope for the future:

“I’ve often said the Irish are the only people who are nostalgic about the future. In my experience, hope is what beats in the heart of all people, particularly the heart of the Irish.

“Every action is about hope that we can make things better, hope to build both our nations that has been passed down generation to generation by our families. And it’s hope that continues to this day.”

He summarised the message of his speech by saying: “45 years ago Pope John Paul spoke down the road, quoting St Patrick the pope said, and I quote ‘I have kept the faith, that has been the ambition of the Irish down the centuries.’

“I think that’s who we are. We keep the faith, and I’m not talking about religion per se, I’m talking about keeping the faith in who we are and what we believe.

“So my message to you today is quite simple. We have to continue to keep the faith.” 

Mr Martin also spoke at the event, focusing his remarks on the value of peace to the border town as he introduced Mr Biden.

He said that the value of the Good Friday Agreement was “so tangible and real here in this location”.

“It is a shared space, a place that links rather than divides. Peace is not an abstraction here,” he said.

“As we build on the ambition of the Good Friday Agreement to sustain a dynamic and prosperous peace, the US will remain an essential and fundamental partner.” He finished: “Welcome home, Mr President.”