US President Barack Obama, starting a four-nation tour of Europe in Ireland on Monday, said he wanted to encourage bilateral trade and would do all he could to help the country's economic recovery. Obama will also explore his Irish roots, making a brief visit to a village that was home to his great-great-great grandfather. For Ireland, Obama's arrival, and the visit of Britain's Queen Elizabeth last week, are a welcome distraction from the global attention paid to the country's financial woes.
Obama will also visit Britain, France and Poland on a week-long trip in which he will discuss with his counterparts such issues as Afghanistan and Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the world economy and the "Arab spring" uprisings. "It is heart-warming to be here and people even arranged for the sun to come out shortly after I arrived," Obama said, as early rain gave way to partly sunny skies. Speaking after talks with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, Obama paid tribute to close Irish-American ties and expressed satisfaction at economic stabilisation in Ireland.
"What I emphasised is that we want to continue to strengthen the bonds of trade and commerce between our two countries, and that we are rooting for Ireland's success and we'll do everything we can to help on the path to recovery," Obama said. He said Ireland "punches above its weight," as a small country with a large global role in peacekeeping and promoting human rights.
Kenny said he told Obama about the seriousness with which his government was addressing the problems with Ireland's banks and unemployment. He said they discussed the relationship with the new Northern Ireland assembly and the British government, and encouraged Obama to bring his golf clubs on his next visit. Obama was given a present of a hurley stick, used in Ireland's native sport, hurling, and practised swinging it.
Obama's next move will appeal to 37 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry, and could produce powerful imagery for his 2012 re-election campaign. He is to visit Moneygall, a sleepy village of 300 people that was the birthplace of his great-great-great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, a shoemaker.
"This is a homecoming of sorts for President Obama," said Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser. Town residents lined up for up to six hours last week to get a ticket to see the president, who has been affectionately renamed "O'Bama" for his Irish sojourn. A security zone was set up around the town on Monday and only people with tickets will be let in.
Henry Healy, Obama's 24-year-old distant cousin from Moneygall, told Ireland's state broadcaster that villagers had painted the front of their houses to prepare for the visit. "Nearly every American president makes the visit to Ireland and it's very special that President Obama is actually really able to make that personal connection by coming back and being able to trace his roots and come and see the ancestral home," Healy said.
Obama, the first African-American US president, is the son of a Kenyan father and an Irish-American mother. Later in the day he is expected to make a public speech about US-Irish ties in Dublin. Tens of thousands of people are likely to brave high winds and driving rain to hear him speak.
Miles of barriers were erected in the capital and thousands of police officers patrolled the streets. Many Irish people were thrilled that Obama was visiting their country, particularly the week after a landmark visit by Queen Elizabeth. Some Dublin pubs put up banners welcoming the US president.