President Obama is likely to visit Moneygall in Offaly, where sites connected with his ancestral heritage still remain.
Obama’s fifth great grandfather was William Kearney (1762-1828). He and his son Joseph were rural shoemakers. Joseph married Phoebe Donovan in 1825, and an unexpected inheritance allowed Joseph and Phoebe and their family to travel to America to escape the ravages of the Irish famine.
One of their children, Fulmoth Kearney, married Charlotte Holloway and they farmed land in Indiana. Their daughter Mary Anne was the great great grandmother of President Obama. Several sites connected to the Kearneys still remain in Moneygall, including the Kearney house site, the old school house which dates from 1800, and the Cullenwaine cemetery.
Mr Pat Gallagher, County Manager, Offaly County Council said that the people of Offaly were enormously enthused and excited by the prospect of the visit of President Obama to Ireland in May.
Mr Gallagher added that the Council looked forward to the official itinerary confirming the President’s intention to visit the county from which his ancestors emigrated in the nineteenth century. He assured him of the warmest welcome in that event. “For the people of Moneygall and the surrounding towns and villages, it would be an occasion of great joy and celebration”, said Mr Gallagher.
The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, welcomed the statement by President Obama that he intends to visit Ireland in May. “This visit by President Obama will be another great day for Ireland. Coming so soon after the visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Ireland will have a golden opportunity to demonstrate its welcome to millions of potential visitors worldwide,” said Minister of State Ring.
“I know that the tourism agencies will be pulling out all the stops to make the most of these visits to deliver a major boost for Irish tourism in 2011 and beyond. Not only are Queen Elizabeth and President Obama the Heads of State of our two most significant overseas tourism markets, they are figures who attract coverage from across the globe, in every marketplace.”
The Minister of State said: “Tourism Ireland, the all–island body which promotes the island of Ireland as a tourist destination overseas, is already working hard to make the most of the Queen’s visit to show Ireland at its best to the world as well as to potential visitors from Great Britain. I am sure that they are already moving to bring more on board for the President’s visit, particularly focusing on the opportunity to bring Ireland’s attractions to potential US visitors. Fáilte Ireland, which supports the tourism industry in Ireland, will be working closely with Tourism Ireland to make sure that our official visitors - and those who travel with them - experience the very best that Ireland has to offer.”
“The forthcoming visit by President Obama is just one example of how the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, is highlighting Ireland’s strengths to our overseas partners and is a strong vote of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government. I am sure that his US visit will bring more good news to Ireland,” concluded Minister of State Ring.
Speaking during Saint Patrick’s celebrations in Washington, Taoiseach Enda Kenny addressed US political leaders and business leaders. The Taoiseach expressed gratitude to the United States for the role it has played in bringing peace to Ireland. He said this should inspire us all that change is possible and that the highest barriers can be overcome; that the peace that Ireland enjoys today is due in great measure to successive American leaders.
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The Taoiseach said Ireland will recover, renew and rebuild, and that Ireland is open for business. “We will do what is necessary to rein in our debt and bring our public finances and banks into proper order. Ireland is committed to attracting inward investment including retaining a corporate business tax of 12.5 per cent. At a recent meeting of the European Council, I made it clear that the corporate tax rate of 12.5 per cent was here to stay, and although we are facing tough times and despite the well documented difficulties, we equally have a store of strengths to draw upon. Even in the global downturn our exports have seen continuous growth, and by 2012 we expect to exceed pre recession level. America is Ireland’s largest merchandise and trading partner at around 50 billion dollars a year. In 2010 Ireland’s exports to the US grew at the rate of 12 per cent. There has never been a better time to invest in Ireland. Don’t take my word for it, just ask Intel, Google, EBay, Facebook, Citigroup or Boston Scientific,” said Mr Kenny.
The Taoiseach and the US treasury secretary had a thirty minute meeting in Washington, where the Taoiseach outlined the new government’s plans for economic reform against the background of the EU-IMF programme and the ongoing negotiations at European Union level. The Taoiseach also offered his support to Irish artists who were performing in Washington as part of the Imagine Ireland Year of Culture, including those who had been invited to perform for the President on St Patricks Day. During his address, the Taoiseach spoke of his grandfather, James McGinley, who was a lighthouse-keeper on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. “People depended on him for their lives: whatever the weather, he had to keep the light burning, and I think of the generations of Irish people who crossed the Atlantic with the hope of making a better life for themselves. The resilience of this generation of Irish men and women is just as strong and their determination just as fierce as the generations who came here over the centuries to help shape America,” he said.
“In my first week of office on our National Day, my fervent hope is that by our actions, our new government can match the ambitions of Daniel Webster, inscribed in this great building (The Capitol in Washington DC): ‘Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth it’s powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform worthy to be remembered.’ I want Ireland to use the spirit of Saint Patrick to create a very different public, political and business narrative. A narrative based on the very ideas on which he based his life: Compassion, gentleness, sincerity, responsibility, respect, honour, forgiveness, redemption, restitution, love, and letting go,” concluded Mr Kenny.
