'Tá mé seo abhaile': Biden hails US-Irish relationship in historic Oireachtas address
US President Joe Biden speaking in the Dáil Chamber at Leinster House for a joint address to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Picture: Maxwells
President Joe Biden has announced “tá mé seo abhaile” in addressing a special sitting of the Oireachtas.
Stating it was good to be home, Mr Biden joked that he always keeps a piece of Ireland with him in the US - the rugby ball used in the game in which Ireland defeated the All Blacks.
The president explained that the ball had been given to him by his distant cousin rugby-player Rob Kearney who brought it to Washington in 2022.
Mr Biden paid tribute to “the enduring strength of the connections between Ireland and the United States.”
He said the Irish who travelled to the US throughout the generations “became the untiring backbone of America's progress as a nation.”
Mr Biden spoke of the “precious” peace that must be “nurtured” in Northern Ireland as he suggested the UK should be working more closely with the Republic of Ireland to support the region.
Reflecting on discussions with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, he spoke of “how Ireland and the United States can work together with the United Kingdom and the European Union to support the people of Northern Ireland”.
Mr Biden said: “I think that the United Kingdom should be working closer with Ireland in this endeavour. Political violence must never be allowed again to take hold on this island.”
The passionate address began with Mr Biden looking upwards and saying: “Well mom, you said it would happen.”
The speech contained numerous references to his family’s history and how his story is like that of so many other Irish Americans who left the island in search of a new life.
He told the crowd: “These stories are the very heart of what binds Ireland and America together. They speak to a history defined by our dreams, they speak to a present written by our shared responsibilities, and they speak to a future poised for unlimited shared possibilities.
“Today I’d like to reflect on the enduring strength of the connections between Ireland and the United States, a partnership for the ages.”
The youngest person in attendance for the speech was baby Margot, daughter of Labour senator Rebecca Moynihan.
Mr Biden jokingly apologised to the infant for putting her through a policy speech, saying it is “as bad as what my children have been put through”.
Mr Biden arrived at 5.05pm with a large entourage including his son Hunter, sister Valerie and US secretary of state Anthony Blinken.
A significant delay of over an hour in the schedule meant those invited got a chance to mingle.
Up on the public gallery distant cousins Laurita Blewitt and her husband Joe Brolley as well as the rugby-player brothers Rob and Dave Kearney watched on.
Broadcaster Ryan Tubridy had warm words with Tánaiste Micheál Martin’s wife Mary and son Micheál Aodh.
Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny seemed delighted to return to Leinster House, putting his arm around Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary on the way in to the Dáil Chamber he made reference to the infamous “I’m back” press release basketball player Michael Jordan put out when announcing his return to the MBA in 1995.
Two-month-old Margot nearly got as much attention as the President, when she arrived in her mother Senator Rebecca Moynihan’s arms, remaining placid as a number of politicians took selfies.
Green Party junior minister Pippa Hackett offered a square of dairy milk to her coalition colleagues Ministers Jack Chambers and Simon Harris as they waited for the main event to start.
Everyone seemed to make an effort with senator Shane Cassells togging out in a pair of Biden socks, while it was a quick change for Fine Gael TD Frankie Feighan who had flown home from a family holiday in Benidorm.
Former President Mary McAleese, former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and the Ukrainian Ambassador Gerasko Larysa were among those who joined sitting TDS and senators in the Chamber.
Representing Northern Ireland politicians were SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, Alliance chief Naomi Long and Sinn Féin’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill.
Despite being invited, no unionist politicians attended.
Marie Heaney, the wife of the late poet Seamus Heaney, sat in the distinguished visitors gallery.
The poet, who would have turned 84 on Thursday, was likely to be “looking down on us with his glasses nestled between his fingers and a hint of a smile on his face”, Dail speaker Sean O Fearghail said as he addressed those gathered before Mr Biden spoke.
Mr Biden then used the often-quoted “hope and history rhyme” line from Heaney’s The Cure At Troy.
Ahead of Mr Biden’s speech Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail welcomed the president and said it is "a very proud and historic day for us all".
He joked that Mr Biden could give him a lesson in bringing a crowd to the Dàil chamber on a Thursday afternoon.
He paid tribute to Mr Biden and said he is "one of us".
"President Biden, today you are amongst friends because you are one of us. You often speak of your Irish roots with great pride and affection especially your ancestors from Louth and Mayo. The story of Ireland is inextricably linked to emigration and in many ways, you personify it. From the Famine times through to today, so many people left these shores in search of a better life in the United States and a remarkable 33 million Americans now claim Irish ancestry. The signatories of the 1916 Proclamation said that this very Republic came into being with the support of “its exiled children in America”. And how true that was. Down through the years our exiles supported Ireland economically and politically, and never forgot the families they left behind."
Seanad Cathaoirleach Jerry Buttimer said that Mr Biden has a "genuine, personal pride in your Irish ancestry" and thanked him for his support of marriage equality.
"On a personal level, I want to thank you for being one of the first leaders to publicly support marriage equality. In your “Meet the Press” interview in 2012, you children in America”. And how true that was. Down through the years our exiles supported Ireland economically and politically, and never forgot the families they left behind."
Prior to the speech on Tuesday, Mr Biden met President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin where he rang the Peace Bell and planted an Irish oak in the grounds.
The Peace Bell was unveiled in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Biden rang it four times before shaking hands with President Higgins. The ringing of the symbolic bell is often an honour bestowed on visiting world leaders and dignitaries.
He said he was ringing the bell for the US, his ancestral home of Ireland, for his ancestors and for peace.
Mr Biden then met with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar hailed the importance of US and European leadership. Mr Varadkar praised American leadership since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year as Mr Biden lauded Ireland for its record in accepting Ukrainian refugees.
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