Ballina, now an Irish/Us Connection
Background Image from vox.com | Charles McQuillan Getty Images
Did you ever find that a place or thing you passed by with little notice suddenly became highlighted in the news? That’s my relationship with Ballina, the Irish town in County Mayo. Joe Biden’s people came from Ballina. As I saw pictures of celebrations in its streets when he was named winner of the presidential election, I was reminded of the week I spent in Ballycastle, with a view of Down Patrick and a chance to tour Mayo. We went through Ballina numerous times, the first being late at night after a 24 -hour series of rerouted flights that took me from NY to Chicago to London to Shannon. By the time we reached Ballina, it was dark and all I cared about was finding a modern gas (petrol) station with a good bathroom.
Image from https://www.mayo-ireland.ie/en/towns-villages/ballina/ballina.html
Ballina itself is a classic Irish river town with Victorian and Georgian buildings and bridges connecting the Mayo and Sligo sides. The “best bits’ as the Irish would say, for me were the beautiful nearby Killala Bay, Belleek Castle and its magical forest paths, and picturesque countryside abbey and friary ruins. Sadly, we didn’t even stop in the town center for a pint. I did not know to look for the Dolmen of the Four Maols or the concrete ship in the bay called the S.S. Creteboom. One of the reasons I wrote Snapshots of Ireland is that it frustrates me to return from a visit to a far away place only to find I missed something extraordinary. But, I will return to Mayo and no doubt will be able to add the Biden Homestead to the list of must-sees.
Since Biden will be only the second US President of Irish descent, people may not realize the number of American presidents who claim Irish Heritage. See my blog on the Barack Obama Plaza US Presidential Museum in Moneygall and on the role of Irish-Americans leaders from colonial times onward. Many families who left Ireland for a better life helped shape this country. Others, like Frederick Douglas, visited Ireland and were received as kindred spirits in search of freedom, dignity and human rights. Bill Clinton’s work on the Peace Process and JFK’s visit to the Kennedy Homestead are illustrations of the Irish/American connection.
Ballina was already a sister city to Scranton, Pa. and Pittsfield, Ma.. Now, a Scranton Irish-American boy whose family hail from Ballina is the President-elect of America.
Slaite to him and may the US unite again through his leadership.