Joe Biden's Ancestral Home Celebrated his Victory
President-Elect Joe Biden has Irish heritage. As such, it was no surprise that the Irish town that is Biden’s ancestral home in County Mayo, Ireland, celebrated his win in the 2020 presidential election.
The town of Ballina is in County Mayo. It is about 145 miles northwest of Dublin. It is the home of Joe Blewitt, a heating and plumbing engineer and a cousin of Joe Biden. In 2017, Joe Blewitt was invited to the White House when then-Vice President Biden was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
The Guardian reported that families in Ballina gathered under a pop-art style mural of Biden in Market Square to clink glasses and express relief that the Blewitt didn’t blow it. Joe Biden is the great-great-great grandson of Edward Blewitt, who emigrated to the United States after the 1840s famine, and settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Joe Biden also has ancestors with the surname Finnegan, who came from County Louth. One of Joe Biden’s granddaughters is named Finnegan Biden. Joe Biden shares a great-great-great grandmother with Anne Kearney-Quinn, who is from County Louth.
The L.A. Times reported that ten of Biden’s 16 great-great grandparents were born in Ireland. In 2016, Joe Biden brought his children and grandchildren on an official trip to Ireland to learn more about their Irish roots.
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micháel Martin was one of the first leaders to congratulate Biden on his victory.
Taoiseach Micháel Martin said in a statement: “On behalf of the government and the people of Ireland, I offer warmest congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as the 46th President of the United States. Ireland takes great pride in Joe Biden’s election, just as we are proud of all the generations of Irish women and Irish men and their ancestors whose toil and genius have enriched the diversity that powers America. This is a particularly special day for the people of County Louth and of County Mayo who count President-Elect Joe Biden among their own.”
Related Articles on FamilyTree.com:
Vice President Joe Biden has Irish Ancestry
Obama Proclaimed Irish American Heritage Month
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