March 17, 2023: President Joe Biden delivers remarks alongside Taoiseach of Ireland Leo Varadkar at a St. Patrick’s Day reception in the East Room of the White House.White House Flickr / Adam Schultz
Biden, flanked by a bagpipe player and platters of Kerrygold butter, announced on Monday, April 1 that he is abandoning his US presidential run and turning his sights to Ireland, "the old country."
"No malarkey," a beaming Biden, donning a green shamrock tie, said during the unprecedented announcement on April 1.
Biden, who regularly touts his Irish roots, said he was waiting until his Irish citizenship, which he was able to get through his Irish great-grandparents, had been finalized.
"Benefits everybody," Biden whispered as he waved his new Irish passport. "Hurts nobody."
With "The Foggy Dew" pumping in the background, Biden revealed on April 1 that he was partly inspired to abandon his run by Leo Varadkar's surprise resignation last month.
"With Leo gone now, the job is for the taking," Biden said, clearly not understanding the difference between the Taoiseach and the President of Ireland.
Biden's Irish platform? "To beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”
The 81-year-old Irish American joins an intriguing pool of candidates that includes Gerry Adams, Niall Horan, and the ghost of Maureen O'Hara.
Should he win the Irish presidency, Biden plans to set up shop in "Mar-a-Louth," but will also have an outpost in his ancestral Co Mayo.
Towards the end of his announcement on April 1 that shocked critics and supporters on both sides of the Atlantic, Biden launched into a recitation of Seamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy."
Concluding what is being dubbed as The White House ceili, Biden proclaimed "Erin go bragh!" as Irish dancers stepped about to a rendition of "A Nation Once Again."