Mayor of Chicago invited to visit home of ancestors

A MEMBER of one of America’s most famous political dynasties may be set to follow in his father’s footsteps by paying a visit to his ancestral home in Waterford.

Chicago mayoral veteran Richard M Daley has been invited to the south-east of Ireland by Waterford mayor Cllr Mary Roche who is currently on a promotional trip to the eastern cities of the United States.

Ms Roche has admitted the tour is “not likely” to result in a significant jobs announcement for the region but said it was important to sow the seed in the American business community.

As part of her campaign to increase awareness of Waterford as a place to do business and a destination for holidaymakers, Mayor Roche presented Mayor Daley with an illustrated family tree pinpointing his Irish roots.

The presentation was the result of painstaking work by Waterford genealogist Tony Hennessy and proves the Chicago politician’s links with Waterford city and county.

“I took the opportunity to invite Mayor Daley, his family and friends to Waterford when we presented him with his family tree,” Mayor Roche said afterwards.

The current Chicago mayor’s father, Richard J Daley — a close associate of the Kennedy clan and a key local organiser during John F Kennedy’s successful presidential campaign in 1960 — visited Waterford in 1964. “So it would be fitting that the next generation would also ‘come home’,” Ms Roche said.

Mayor Daley was also presented with an honorary fellowship of Waterford Institute of Technology.

“It was a very encouraging start to what I hope will be a productive week of networking and strengthening our close links with business, cultural and tourism leaders and opinion-makers in America,” the Waterford mayor said.

Accompanied by city manager Michael Walsh and economic development director Lar Power, Ms Roche is also scheduled to meet New York state lieutenant governor Robert Duffy; IDA North America director John Conlon and Kieran McLaughlin of the Ireland Fund. Waterford businessman Noel Frisby is also part of the delegation.

“I don’t think we can sit back and expect business and investment to come to us, so we’re going out there to do what we can to get it,” Ms Roche said.