Village braces for Obama visit

DOZENS of primary school students from US President Barack Obama’s ancestral homeland of Moneygall gathered yesterday to raise star-spangled banners across the Co Offally village.

Pupils from Scoil Josióf gathered on the town’s main street yesterday to raise up to 100 American flags and Irish tricolours in anticipation of Mr Obama’s arrival next week. Flag poles now line both sides of the main street.

The atmosphere in the village, home to a mere 350 inhabitants, is being described as “fantastic” as the weeks of cleaning, painting and pruning draw to a close. A specially commissioned souvenir tourist map has been drawn up by Shannon Development and the Regional Development Agency for the Shannon Region, in association with Offaly County Council. Tourist bodies also said a dedicated tourist information service is to be set up in Moneygall for use in the days before, during and after Mr Obama’s visit.

Shannon Development chief executive Dr Vincent Cunnane said: “This will be the third successive US presi- dential visit to the Shannon region since 1998, and we have been delighted to assist in all of these visits.

“Each visit generated positive spin-off for the areas included on the itinerary, and we anticipate the same level of interest in Moneygall from President Obama’s visit. We are already experiencing a huge level of media interest.”

For weeks, US Secret Service personnel have been active around the village and have, in recent days, carried out security checks on residential houses, including back yards.

Details of how Mr Obama will spend his time in Moneygall, estimated to be no more than an hour, are sketchy. However, it is likely he will drop in on publican Ollie Hayes, where he will come face to face with a lifesize statue of himself.

It is also likely that he will be taken on a walking tour of the village that will include a trip to his ancestors’ home on Main Street, the building where his ancestors went to school, and Templeharry church, where they worshipped.

Locals also scoffed at newspaper reports that there was nowhere for the international media or for the Secret Service officers to eat in Moneygall.

“They’ve been busy eating sandwiches and soup and scones for weeks now,” said Keith at Ollie Hayes’ bar.

The tourist guide is available for download at shannondevelopment.ie and facebook.com/irelandshannonregion