“I'll go back to Ireland—the country from which my ancestors hailed, and a country whose independence the Easter Rising set in motion, 100 years ago this year. It will be my first dedicated trip to this nation as Vice President—during which I'll meet with the country's leaders, and celebrate our shared heritage. Our shared values of tolerance. Diversity. Inclusiveness.”
In 1851, Patrick’s family left Ireland and arrived in New York City on the SS Excelsior, as listed on the 1851 New York Passenger List.
In 1850, at the age of seven, James immigrated to the United States leaving from Newry, Northern Ireland on the SS Marchioness of Bute. He was listed with a portion of his family on this New York Passenger List. They left Ireland at the height of the Great Famine and made a new home in Seneca County, New York.
James Finnegan, Joe’s great-grandfather, was born in December 1840 in County Louth, Ireland. This Ireland Catholic Parish Register shows he was baptized in Lordship, County Louth, Ireland on 18 December 1840.
Patrick Blewitt, Joe’s 2nd great-grandfather, was born 20 April 1832 to Edward and Mary Blewett in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland and baptized on 24 April 1832 at the Parish of Kilmoremoy, County Mayo and Sligo, Ireland. This record comes from Ireland Catholic Parish Registers.
Patrick’s 1911 obituary from Newspapers.com recounted an exciting life, with travels that took him around the world to China, Hawaii, and Brazil.
I'm heading out on a very special trip today.
I'll go back to Ireland—the country from which my ancestors hailed, and a country whose independence the Easter Rising set in motion, 100 years ago this year. It is my first dedicated trip to this nation as Vice President—during which I'll meet with the country's leaders, discuss issues of trade, economic recovery, migration and refugee policy, and other national security challenges, and celebrate our shared heritage. Our shared values of tolerance. Diversity. Inclusiveness.
And it's a trip I'm so deeply grateful to be taking alongside my children and grandchildren.
Over the course of my life, I've been a lot of places. I've traveled all around the world—more than a million miles on Air Force Two alone. I've been honored to have held a lot of titles. But I have always been and will always be the son of Kitty Finnegan. The grandson of Geraldine Finnegan from St. Paul's Parish in Scranton; a proud descendant of the Finnegans of Ireland’s County Louth. The great-grandson of a man named Edward Francis Blewitt, whose roots stem from Ballina, a small town in Ireland’s County Mayo—sister city to my hometown in Scranton, Pennsylvania. An engineer with a poet’s heart. Months after my mother passed away, I found an old box of his poems in my attic.
In his poetry, my great-grandfather spoke of both continents, and how his heart and his soul drew from the old and the new. And most of all, he was proud. He was proud of his ancestors. He was proud of his blood. He was proud of his city. He was proud of his state, his country. But most of all—he was proud of his family.
And that is America: This notion that home is where your character is etched. As Americans, we all hail from many homes. Somewhere along the line, someone in our lineage arrived on our shores, filled with hope. We are blessed to experience that simultaneous pride in where we've found ourselves, while never forgetting our roots.
James Joyce wrote, "When I die, Dublin will be written on my heart."
Well, Northeast Pennsylvania will be written on my heart. But Ireland will be written on my soul. And as we join the world in celebrating everything that Ireland has become, and indeed everything that she has always been, I could not be more honored to be returning.
I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.
Vice President Joe Biden arrives at Dublin International Airport and is greeted by Charles Flanagan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Dublin, Ireland, June 21, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Upon his arrival he, his family, and staff are greeted by Charles Flanagan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, on the tarmac at Dublin International before they load into the motorcade. From there, they head to the Government Building in Dublin for a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Enda Kenny, before retiring for the evening. They'll stay in Dublin overnight, and will head out to County Mayo following tomorrow morning's bilateral meetings with President Higgins.
Vice President Joe Biden is greeted by Taoiseach Kenny outside the government building before their bilateral meeting, in Dublin, Ireland, June 21, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
The Vice President reflects on his first day in Ireland and what it means to be in the land of his forefathers. (Official White House Video, Rachel Kopilow, Senior Video Producer.)
Vice President Joe Biden is given a hurling stick by Taoiseach Enda Kenny before their bilateral meeting at the government building in Dublin, Ireland, June 21, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden waves as he departs the President's Residence following a bilateral meeting with President Michael Higgins in Dublin, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
From there, after bidding farewell to President Higgins and First Lady Sabina Higgins, it was on to Ballina, a small town in Ireland's County Mayo—sister city to the Vice President's original hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. There, along with his children and grandchildren, the Vice President had his genealogy presented to him before walking down Ballina's Garden Street—the birthplace of his 2nd great-grandfather Blewitt—and even meeting with some of his own Irish relatives for the first time. Here are scenes from the day.
Vice President Joe Biden greets President Michael Higgins and Sabina Higgins upon arrival at the President's Residence in Dublin, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden attends a bilateral meeting with President Michael Higgins at the President's Residence in Dublin, Ireland, June 22, 2016. Also in attendance are U.S. Amb. to Ireland Kevin O'Malley, Colin Kahl, Mrs. Sabina Higgins, Ireland Amb. to the U.S. Anne Anderson; Art O’Leary, Secretary General to the President; Liam Herrick, Adviser to the President. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden speaks with President Michael Higgins and First Lady Sabina Higgins following a bilateral meeting at the President's Residence in Dublin, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden and his family receive a briefing on their Irish heritage from genealogist Fiona Fitzsimons, at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in Dublin, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden greets local students with Taoiseach Enda Kenny upon arrival at Ireland West Airport Knock in Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden and Taoiseach Enda Kenny shake hands with people in Ballina, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden applauds for Irish dancers and the band the Chieftains, at Matt Malloy's pub in Westport, Ireland, June 22, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
U.S. President Joe Biden visited a pub in County Mayo where he watched local bands and Irish dancers. (Official White House Video. Rachel Kopilow, Senior Video Producer.)
Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with crew members outside a C-17 serving as Air Force Two, at Dublin, International Airport, in Dublin Ireland, June 23, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Next, accompanied by his family, he toured local Dublin sights that included Kilmainham Gaol Prison, where many of those who participated in the 1916 Easter Rising were held. He stays in Dublin tonight, ahead of a day of public remarks in the city.
Vice President Joe Biden and grandson Hunter Biden tour one of the cells in Kilmainham Gaol Prison, where many of those who participated in the Easter Rising in 1916 were held, in Dublin, Ireland, June 23, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden tours the Kilmainham Gaol Prison, where many of those who participated in the Easter Rising in 1916 were held, in Dublin, Ireland, June 23, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the Trinity College Public Theater, in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Next, it was on to Dublin Castle, where the Vice President spoke before a large crowd on the shared heritage of the United States and Ireland, touching on the history and values they have come to share. He reflected on what it's meant to him to be with his family in the land of their forefathers, noting that tomorrow, he'll head onward to County Louth, from which the Finnegan side of his family hailed. The Vice President rounded out his day with remarks at the American Ireland Fund's 40th Anniversary Gala at the Trinity College Library Square Courtyard.
Vice President Joe Biden looks at James Joyce manuscripts in the Trinity College Library, in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
“I’m overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people of Ireland; overwhelmed by the hospitality of Trinity College. And I am extremely flattered, and I wish all of you graduates. I wish you well. Go and do good.”
Vice President Joe Biden and his grandchildren tour the Trinity College Library, in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Following his speech at Dublin Castle in Ireland, Biden shares a few thoughts on the overwhelming sense of hope, and the resiliency of the Irish. (Official White House Video. Rachel Kopilow, Senior Video Producer.)
Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the shared heritage of our two nations, and the values of tolerance, diversity and inclusiveness, at Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the Trinity College Public Theater, in Dublin, Ireland, June 24, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
He and his family began the day with a tour of Newgrange, a prehistoric world heritage site built between 3000 and 2500 B.C. From there, the Bidens continued on to County Louth, where they toured the Kilwirra Church and Cemetery, where a Finnegan is said to be buried. After a few more local stops in County Louth, the Vice President and family returned to Dublin, where they remained overnight.
Vice President Joe Biden visits Newgrange, a prehistoric, world heritage site, built between 3000 and 2500 BC, with members of his family, in Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden greets restaurant staff outside Fitzpatrick's Restaurant and Pub after a family lunch, in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
A sign along the side of the road welcomes Vice President Joe Biden and his family to County Louth, Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
People waving American flags outside a pub along the motorcade route in County Louth, Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Carlingford Heritage Center, in Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
Vice President Joe Biden waves to people lined up to see him outside Lily Finnegan's Pub which was formerly owned by distant relatives of the Vice president, in County Louth, Ireland, June 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden tours Newgrange, a prehistoric world heritage site in County Meath, and then walks through a beautiful cemetery where members of his family were laid to rest and then visits a local pub in County Louth. (Official White House Video. Rachel Kopilow, Senior Video Producer.)
Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Ashley Biden, Vice President Joe Biden, and Mrs. Fionnuala O'Kelly wave to the press after a luncheon hosted by the Taoiseach at Farmleigh House, in Dublin, Ireland, June 26, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)
After jokingly informing the guests of the lunch that he and his family were in fact never leaving, the Vice President and his family then boarded Air Force Two at Dublin International, en route for Washington, D.C.
Biden discusses the Irish welcome he received, the places he visited and what it meant to be on this trip with his family. (Official White House Video. Rachel Kopilow, Senior Video Producer.)
Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with local law enforcement before boarding Air Force Two, at Dublin International Airport, in Dublin, Ireland, June 26, 2016. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann.)