Who knew our relatives were international rugby stars, Grandpa?
The Biden clan’s visit to Ireland concluded with a special lunch arranged by Taoiseach, Enda Kenny at Farmleigh House on Sunday.
As they prepared to fly home that evening, the family celebrated an ‘amazing’ trip around Ireland, tracing their ancestral roots, and meeting with distant relatives in Louth and Mayo.
The event also saw them introduced to some of their more famous, albeit distant cousins - rugby players Dave and Rob Kearney.
The Vice President’s youngest grandchild - Hunter Biden - was thrilled to meet the international stars of rugby, who he can claim a direct ancestral link with.
The Kearney brothers - who are originally from Whitestown - are also descended from the Finnegan’s, some of whom left the townland in Cooley in the mid 1800’s to start new lives in America.
The event also included the great and the good of Irish-American society who turned out to meet the Vice President and his family.
Hotelier John Fitzpatrick, who also has links with Louth, was among the guests at the luncheon.
Mr. Fitzpatrick , better known in Dundalk as ‘ The Secret Millionaire’ has funded and supported a number of projects in town in recent years.
The Vice President’s visit to Louth was one of the highlights of his trip to Ireland.
After a poignant visit to the cemetery where his ancestors are buried, he received a huge welcome at Lily Finnegan’s just a short distance away in Whitestown.
Crowds gathered outside the pub, cheering on the visiting Vice President and his family, waving signs, banners and flags aloft. Buskers provided the best entertainment of the evening, with a few homespun tunes.
RTE’s US correspondent Catriona Perry, who along with national and local press travelled along with the cavalcade, could barely be heard above the crowds as she reported live on the festive atmosphere in Cooley which awaited the V|ice President.
Taking time out to meet the locals, Mr. Biden was then welcomed to traditional pub by Derek McGarrity and his staff. Delighted with the reception, he quipped, ‘I don’t want to go home now!’