Kenny’s hurley gift lost in translation by world media
“Yard-long paddle?”
The world’s media yesterday spent hours of airtime and acres of pages explaining how the Hollywood-style visit of US President Barack Obama to a sleepy town in the middle of Ireland would help to further strengthen ties between the two nations.
But even as the messages of hope were written down by the international media elite — with the “Is féidir linn” remark taking centre stage — there was still room for the occasional lost in translation moment.
Reporting on the ceremony and official procedures of the day, the Washington Post noted that Taoiseach Enda Kenny had given Mr Obama a gift of a hurley to remember the historic setting-foot in his ancestors’ home.
Only his description of the gift was a little different to what Seán Óg Ó hAilpín or DJ Carey may recognise.
“Kenny gave the President a hurley, a roughly yard-long paddle,” wrote reporter Scott Wilson.
He added that Mr Obama began “brandishing the stick like a baseball bat”, before smiling and explaining that “if members of Congress aren’t behaving, give ‘em a little paddle”.
The light-hearted comment was noted in a detailed article recording the US President’s whistle-stop tour which also included remarks on Ireland’s commitment to peacekeeping missions, human rights and work on food security.
These issues led the headlines on CNN, the New York Times, the LA Times and other major US media — which noted that the visit will help secure the Democrat leader Irish-American votes — and were also addressed by Middle East-based satellite news channel Al Jazeera on the other side of the globe. This latter station emphasised Mr Obama’s comment that Ireland and the US are “bound in history and friendship”.
It added that the visit could help this country to overcome our economic problems and kick-start a badly needed recovery from a financial crisis which is threatening the eurozone.
French national daily Le Monde concentrated on the remarkable family lineage that has led from Falmouth Kearney and Charlotte Holloway to Barack Hussein Obama, indicating the move is a symbol of how different nations and people are connected.
And the widespread welcome of the visit was repeated in Britain, where President Obama flew last night.
Within a series of articles detailing the visit to Ireland, Britain, France and Poland, the Daily Telegraph explained the historic reasons for why the visit has taken on such importance: “Barack Obama comes home to Ireland.”
