Obama connects with Irish roots
Obamas arrive in Ireland
By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Nancy Benac, Associated Press – 11 mins ago
MONEYGALL, Ireland – President Barack Obama paid a joyful visit Monday to the small Irish village where his great-great-great grandfather once lived and worked as a shoemaker, an improbable and memorable pilgrimage for America's first black president into his Irish past.
Obama walked the thronged Main Street of Moneygall, where his thrice-removed grandfather on his Kansas-born mother's side, Falmouth Kearney, lived until leaving for the United States in 1850 at the height of Ireland's Great Famine. Obama's roots in the town were discovered during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Along with first lady Michelle Obama, the president even got to hug a distant relative: Henry Healy, a 26-year-old accountant for a plumbing firm who discovered four years ago he was one of Obama's closest Irish relatives.
The first couple spent extended time greeting the people who had withstood soaking rain earlier to see them. The thrilled villagers, who had been preparing for the moment for weeks, responded rapturously, waving American and Irish flags.
"You look lovely!" one woman exclaimed to Mrs. Obama. The president held a baby clad in pink hoodie and cap and smiled wide for the crowd. Another boy had climbed high atop the shoulders of a man to get a hello with the president. Both of the Obamas stretched to shake seemingly every hand they could reach.
Resident Aileen Spillane, 50, said she'd waited four hours, sometimes getting drenched by rain. "We're delighted for this day. We thought it would never happen," she declared.
For the president it was a quick detour from Dublin on the first day of his four-country Europe trip.
Obamas arrive in Ireland
By NANCY BENAC, Associated Press Nancy Benac, Associated Press – 11 mins ago
MONEYGALL, Ireland – President Barack Obama paid a joyful visit Monday to the small Irish village where his great-great-great grandfather once lived and worked as a shoemaker, an improbable and memorable pilgrimage for America's first black president into his Irish past.
Obama walked the thronged Main Street of Moneygall, where his thrice-removed grandfather on his Kansas-born mother's side, Falmouth Kearney, lived until leaving for the United States in 1850 at the height of Ireland's Great Famine. Obama's roots in the town were discovered during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Along with first lady Michelle Obama, the president even got to hug a distant relative: Henry Healy, a 26-year-old accountant for a plumbing firm who discovered four years ago he was one of Obama's closest Irish relatives.
The first couple spent extended time greeting the people who had withstood soaking rain earlier to see them. The thrilled villagers, who had been preparing for the moment for weeks, responded rapturously, waving American and Irish flags.
"You look lovely!" one woman exclaimed to Mrs. Obama. The president held a baby clad in pink hoodie and cap and smiled wide for the crowd. Another boy had climbed high atop the shoulders of a man to get a hello with the president. Both of the Obamas stretched to shake seemingly every hand they could reach.
Resident Aileen Spillane, 50, said she'd waited four hours, sometimes getting drenched by rain. "We're delighted for this day. We thought it would never happen," she declared.
For the president it was a quick detour from Dublin on the first day of his four-country Europe trip.
