In a speech devoted as much to personal pride than overt politics, Obama told roughly 30,000 people gathered in central Dublin that he had come to reaffirm “the bonds of affection” between the United States and Ireland.
“There’s always been a little green behind the red, white and blue,” he said to cheers.
Obama’s buoyant trip to Ireland, however, was to be even shorter than planned. Concerns over a dense, shifting ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano toward British isles are prompting him to fly to London later Monday instead of spending the night in Dublin.
On a busy day of stops, Obama got splashes of rain and sunshine as he soaked in the kind of atmosphere more familiar from his first days as president.
Obama’s speech came after he had downed a pint of Guinness in tiny Moneygall, the small Irish village where his great-great-great grandfather once lived and worked as a shoemaker. It was an improbable and memorable pilgrimage for America’s first black president into his Irish past, and Obama soaked it in.
“My name is Barack Obama, of the Moneygall Obamas,” he said. The president sought to endear himself to the locals by speaking some phrases in Gaelic, including his campaign slogan of “Yes we can.” The president struck a more serious tone in marking the adversity of Ireland’s history and current economic times, celebrating a country that shares a resilient success with America. He held up Ireland as a model for the world by describing its move from violent divisions to what he called a lasting peace on the island.
“Our greatest triumphs in America and Ireland alike are still to come,” the president said. “And Ireland, if anyone ever says otherwise, if anybody ever tells you that your problems are too big, your challenges are too great, that we can’t do something, that we shouldn’t even try, think about all that we’ve done together.” Obama is on a six-day, four-country trip in Europe that will involve working with allies on knotty problems of war, peace and economic growth. Monday, though, was about a colorful journey into a part of the president’s ancestry he hasn’t fully explored, and that many Americans might not even know about.
Obama sought to change that as he endeared himself to the Irish populace, and in turn perhaps to millions of Irish-American voters in the United States.
Ireland hurriedly organized an open-air show to precede Obama’s speech. Irish stars from the music, film, TV and sports worlds took turns exciting those who had waited at least three hours to get in; many more were turned away because the scene was getting packed at College Green, a broad boulevard flanked by Dublin Castle and Trinity College. President Bill Clinton once spoke at the same spot.
Some in the youthful crowd waved American flags as they awaited an appearance by the US president with a touch of Irish in him.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny introduced the Obamas to a crowd that made clear its desire that he step aside for their distinguished guest as quickly as possible.
“Obama!” they chanted as Kenny, undeterred, continued to proclaim the inspiration of Obama’s life story.
“The 44th president is different, because he doesn’t just speak about the American dream. He is the American dream!” Kenny said before surrendering the podium to thunderous cheers.
Earlier, the president walked the thronged Main Street of quaint Moneygall, where his ancestor on his Kansas-born mother’s side, Falmouth Kearney, lived until leaving for the United States in 1850 at the height of Ireland’s Great Famine. Obama’s roots in the town were discovered during the 2008 presidential campaign.
The president raised a pint of Guinness in Ollie’s Bar, held up a baby and shook innumerable hands. He took a look at Kearney’s baptism records — the documents that established his connection to the town — and even got to meet, hug and drink with a distant family member: Henry Healy, a 26-year-old accountant for a plumbing firm.
Obama downed his whole glass of beer with gusto before the TV cameras.
The first couple spent extended time greeting Moneygall residents who had withstood soaking rain earlier to see them. The thrilled villagers responded by waving American and Irish flags and breaking into periodic cries of “Obama! Obama!.” Both of the Obamas stretched to shake seemingly every hand they could reach.
“Absolutely fabulous,” said Ann McCormack, a 39-year-old housewife said after shaking Obama’s hand. She said the town will be talking about this day forever. “We’ll take it to our grave,” she said.
Residents in the village of about 350 had been eagerly anticipating Obama’s arrival, applying fresh coats of paint to their homes, patching up the sidewalks and hurriedly building a coffee shop called — what else? — Obama Cafe.
Guinness last week delivered a specially brewed keg of stout to be poured the moment Obama walked through the door of Ollie’s Bar.
The president told those invited in the pub that the Irish have had a powerful influence on American culture, and he spoke of the warmth and friendship between the peoples of Ireland and the United States. Obama spoke affectionately about his ancestral ties to country. And “with that,” he declared with eagerness, it was time for a pint.
Then it was back into the street for more handshakes and cheering.
The journey began with an overnight flight from Washington aboard Air Force One. The president and first lady met Ireland’s President Mary McAleese at her official residence, and Obama participated in a tree planting ceremony as children rang a peace bell marking the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday accord.
Obama then met the prime minister, Kenny, and told him: “For the United States, Ireland carries a blood link with us.” The president, who has struggled very publicly in recent days with his own role trying to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, also told Kenny “how inspired we have been by the progress that’s been made in Northern Ireland. It speaks to the possibilities of peace, and people in longstanding struggles being able to reimagine their relationships.”
Obama’s one-day visit to Ireland came just days after Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II visited the Emerald Isle, the first trip to Ireland by a British monarch in about 100 years. The back-to-back visits have given the Irish a much-needed reason to celebrate as they struggle to climb out of the financial hole created by the collapse of the country’s banks and housing market.
