US VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN VISITS HIS ANCESTRAL COOLEY HOME
ARGUS REPORTER OLIVIA RYAN JOINED VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S CAVALCADE DURING HIS DAY LONG TRIP OF LOUTH WHERE HE MADE A POIGNANT TRIP TO HIS ANCESTORS BURIAL GROUND, MET HIS DISTANT COUSINS, AND CHARMED THE CROWDS
IT was a ‘ welcome home’ like no other. A flag raising, chorus belting, fist pumping reception that only the Americans could bring.
US Vice President, Joe Biden and his entourage captivated visitors to Louth last Saturday, bringing with them all the presidential pomp that Ireland knows and loves. In what was essentially a family holiday for the Biden clan, the trip to Louth was a homecoming that was more than 160 years in the making.
It was the fifth day of the Vice President’s stay in Ireland, and after the official niceties of his Dublin arrival and the ‘ hoo-ha’ across in Mayo, the final stop in Cooley was always going to be a special one.
After a day that began at Newgrange in Meath, way behind schedule, Vice President Biden and his family, including look-a-like brother,Jim, were on route to Louth for the wee county’s very own cead mile failte.
A calvacade travelling 23 vehicles long zipped its way onto the motorway towards Dundalk, with the Vice President treated to a unique view of the Cooley mountains in the distance.
It was from there that his ancestors, the Finnegan’s had left their homes and loved ones to make the perilous journey across land and sea to an unfamiliar continent.
That sacrifice, to make a new life in the US, wasn’t lost on their descendant who would go on to become the second most powerful person in America, as he took his first steps back in Louth.
‘Hi, I’m Joe Biden and this is my family’ said the Vice President, dispensing with formalities as he was welcomed at Fitzpatrick’s Bar and Restaurant by his distant relatives - the Kearney’s of Whitestown.
Among them was Irish international rugby star Dave Kearney, and his family, who enjoyed lunch with the Biden clan.
As his grandchildren peeked out from behind his tall frame, the Vice President introduced each individually to the large group of their long lost ‘Cooley cousins’, trying to impress on them he later said ‘ the importance of their Irish ancestry, so that they will never forget where they came from.’
The award winning Jenkinstown venue was awash with security throughout what was an informal lunch for the families reuniting after generations apart.
Secret service, military, snipers, and officers from across the garda ranks amassed on the peninsula to ensure the safety of the Vice President and his family.
Chosen weeks ahead of the trip as the dining stop for the Biden clan, Fitzpatrick’s had been heavily scanned by secret service in the weeks, days, hours and minutes before last Saturday afternoon.
‘We were contacted about two weeks ago asking us to accommodate a bus trip,’ said Danny Fitzpatrick, who runs the popular bar and restaurant with his wife Dympna.
‘ The we had a number of visits by a group of gentleman, who seemed to be secret service before the booking was made. We weren’t officially told at any stage that it was the Vice President who would be dining with us, but of course we were operating under the assumption that it was!’
A wealth of preparations kicked into gear, added Danny, to prepare the premises inside and out for the high profile visit.
‘We wanted to make sure the place was looking at it’s best of course.
‘We were so honoured and privileged to be chosen. It was a very historic day, and one my and my staff will never forget,’ he added.
Despite his huge entourage, the Vice President was low key as he walked into the premises, meeting with Danny and the team, and stopping to chat with the lucky few members of the public who managed to get a table during the visit.
Walking around the tables of diners, he introduced himself simply as ‘Joe Biden’ smiling as he heard ‘welcome home’ aplenty.
‘He was really nice, very friendly,’ said Danny Fitzpatrick. ‘It was a privilege to have met him.’
‘We did manage to get some official photographs taken with him, which we are waiting on. It was a great honour for all the staff here to have been a part of such a unique day.
It was an experience none of us will ever forget.’
Security was paramount, with access to the dining room limited to just three of Fitzpatrick’s staff who took orders and served food for the Biden family and their distant cousins.
With a few added specials to the menu for the day including lobster and crab, Danny said the Vice President chose one of the regular dishes.
‘He ordered the rare beef salad, and also enjoyed some of our lemon iced tea . It was a light lunch I think as they were expecting a meal back in Dublin on Saturday night.’
The Vice President might have stuck with something simple, but his young grandson ordered crab claws and a 16 ounce steak, and I’m told he enjoyed every last bite!’
THE VICE PRESIDENT ENJOYED RARE BEEF SALAD, WHILE HIS GRANDSON DEVOURED CRAB CLAWS AND A 16 OUNCE STEAK!