Mick Clifford: Mayo for Joe as Biden ends his Irish trip on a high note
US president Joe Biden bounded on stage to deliver the final speech of his Irish trip at St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, Co Mayo. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA
Lights, action, roll it, Mr President.
An energetic Joe Biden jogged on stage in front of St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina last night to the sound of the Dropkick Murphys' song 'I’m Shipping Up to Boston', as he bade farewell after a visit that was all sweetness, affection, and nostalgia.
Captured by a dramatic light display, his appearance in Ballina will inevitably feature in next year’s presidential election should he confirm that he will run for another term.
This was a perfect way to close out the presidential visit.
The stage was set up in front of a cathedral, a symbol of Biden’s primary connection to Irish America, and his Catholicism.
Much of the stage was obscured by a big screen on the banks of the Moy, with the attendance all corralled on the far side of the river, as if it was deemed necessary to put clear blue water between Joe’s idea of Ireland and the real deal.
He delivered a speech that was heavily weighted with family and history, reaching all the way back to his great, great, great grandfather, who had a role in building the cathedral that was bathed in light at his back.
Apart from that, he touched all the points with which we have become familiar, the Good Friday Agreement, Ireland’s role in the world, generosity towards Ukrainians, and values of decency and respect.
In the end, there was only one thing the gathering wanted to hear and he obliged: “Mayo for Sam.”
As was obvious in his various speeches over the last four days, Joe Biden is the exemplar of Irish America’s unique connection to this country.
In this respect, he also, most likely, bookends the era of American presidents with a special connection to Ireland.
John F Kennedy came on a presidential visit 60 years ago, bringing with him the whiff of glamour from the new world.
Now, with Irish America as a constituency dissipating and fracturing, Biden is most likely the last of a caste that looked with longing back in time towards an ancestral home of their imagination.
The professionals will deem the whole visit to have been a diplomatic triumph but, in reality, this was all about Old Joe and the Old Country, and little else.
The suspension of the Assembly in Stormont put a dampener on the first day, but it was relief all around that he didn’t stumble into one of his verbal gaffs in a place where the wrong word in the wrong place can take days or weeks to mend.
Instead, he mixed up the All Blacks with the Black and Tans in Louth, which provided an amusing distraction for everybody except elements of the British press.
On Thursday, he broke bread with Michael D, who would not ordinarily be the kind of man to seriously engage with Irish-America’s nostalgia.
But at least they shared a love of poetry, even if Misneach, Michael D’s much-loved dog, appeared to get the hump with the Yank in the shades.
The speeches differed little, all about how great the Irish are.
The word “dignity” was repeated again and again, as if America was listening in and being invited to compare Biden with his prospective opponent in next year’s election, Donald Trump.
Thursday was all about obligatory politics, but it was refracted through a soft lens.
Yesterday it was Mayo’s turn to welcome him back to his home of the imagination.
The president stopped short of announcing he would run for a second term, but this had all the hallmarks of a re-election speech, from the lights and the star-spangled flags, to Bono belting out ‘Beautiful Day’ as Biden exited stage left, little over an hour shy of midnight.
Afterwards, Biden boarded Air Force One, back to reality after a break that will have heartened him, provided an interlude to the serious business of governing, and maybe even given him a little pep in his step.
He’s going to need it if he runs again at the age of 82, but who knows — with a strong wind at his back, he may make the second term and there would be no stopping him from coming back to Ireland for more.
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