The excitement is palpable over US President Joe Biden impending Mayo visit
The United States Ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin, believes the impending visit to Ireland by US President Joe Biden is generating a great deal of excitement among the general public.
“It's going to be big!” she said on a trip to Ballina ahead of President Biden's visit next Friday, which will see him spend time in Northern Ireland and Dublin as well as Co. Louth and Co. Mayo, where his ancestors hail from.
“Of course I can't speak for him but I know that he has great love and affection for Ireland and Co. Mayo in particular, along with Co. Louth, so it's all positive and all good.”
Ambassador Cronin is very much looking forward to President Biden's visit herself.
“I'm really excited because I feel like this is going to be a moment in time. I think no president has ever given a major address in Mayo, and particularly one with Mayo roots.
"I think that this is a wonderful opportunity for so many families, particularly in Mayo. I know if I were home with my kids and the President of the United States was coming, I would make sure we went as a family.
“Obviously Ballina is so picturesque and beautiful, and just to be along the banks of the River Moy in such a lovely little town...you can already palpably feel the excitement here. People are excited. It's great.
“I'm really excited about it. It's really historic. I feel so optimistic about the trip itself. But I feel really emboldened and excited about the response that I've seen from the Irish people about the trip.”
In terms of how important the visit may be in general, Ambassador Cronin said it's significant in many ways.
“If you look at the relationships between our two countries, the foundations are in ancestral relations, the trade and investment is the glue that keeps us together, and a trip like this will have a significant impact on the economy in the next week or so. But thereafter I think it will spur tourism to this area as well. So I think the benefits are significant to the community.
“The trip is also to underscore the importance of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and the economic gains that have existed as a result of the GFA and will continue with the framework. So I think there are endless opportunities that are going to come out of the GFA and the fact that some issues have been resolved.
“The trade and investment between our countries is very significant. One fact that I’m not sure people are aware of is that Ireland is the ninth largest foreign investor in the US. We often talk about our relationship in terms of what the US has maybe invested in Ireland but it is very much a two-way street, and that’s a story that needs to be told.”
While excitement is growing locally surrounding the visit of President Biden, the ambassador believes it will generate plenty of interest back in the US as well.
“I think it will be a really big deal. I think this trip is also very symbolic in that it represents the role that the US has had with our allies and partners in Europe, particularly with the war in Ukraine.
"I think the president has done a remarkable job in bringing our partners and allies together and the strength of us as a group is far greater than any one country alone. I think this trip will be reflective of that relationship between the US and Ireland and the US and our partners.
“This trip is creating memories for not just this generations, but for the next.
“He’s an Irish-American president who has a real deep love and affection for this country. It runs deep; there’s no one that loves Irish culture, Irish history, Irish music, Irish poetry and just the values that we share as a country more than President Biden.”
Is it an important trip for Irish-Americans in particular?
“It’s huge. It really is. If you grew up in Boston in the 1960s, you had a picture of the Pope and President John F. Kennedy on your wall. It’s never lost on me the significance of President Kennedy’s visit here, as someone who comes from Massachusetts in particular, but in the same way President Biden coming here...there’s such a large Irish diaspora that it is something that will be well covered.”
Does the ambassador have any idea of the content of the speech he will be making in Mayo? “I’m not giving that away!” she replied before adding: “The message should, I expect, reflect the strong friendship and relations between our countries.”
President Biden’s speech in Ballina will be held on the evening of Friday, April 14, in front of St. Muredach’s Cathedral.
The event is open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend can find registration information and further details on the US Embassy website (https://ie.usembassy.gov).