Obama makes quip about his and Biden’s “common Irish blood” at DNC

Former US President Barack Obama mentioned his and President Joe Biden's "common Irish blood" during his keynote address at the 2024 Democratic National Convention last night, Tuesday, August 20.

“Other than some common Irish blood, Joe and I come from different backgrounds," Obama said on Tuesday night while reflecting on choosing Biden as his running mate after accepting the Democratic nomination in 2008.

The former President paused briefly after his remark on Tuesday night, presumably expecting some laughs. However, his Irish quip went largely unnoticed in the packed-out stadium and was ultimately overshadowed by other riffs and more poignant moments later on during his address.

The nod to their "common" Irish roots came as Obama paid tribute to Biden, saying that selecting him as his running mate in 2008 was one of his first big decision as the Democratic nominee, one that turned out to be one of his best.

The Obama-Biden ticket, of course, won in 2008 and later again in 2012. During the eight-year administration, both Obama and Biden visited Ireland, though separately. 

Biden, who announced he was standing down from the 2024 US Presidential election and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris to become the nominee on July 21, was not at the DNC on Tuesday night, but did deliver a roughly 45-minute address, regarded by some as his 'farewell address,' on Monday night at the convention. Though he's earned a reputation for touting his Irish roots and quoting Irish writers throughout his lengthy political career, there was no mention of either during Monday's address.

Indeed, both Obama and Biden have Irish roots. Obama tends to lean into his distant Irish roots in a more lighthearted manner, while Biden regularly touts his Irish Catholic upbringing.

(Interestingly, in 2022, Fiona Fitzsimons, a researcher with the Irish Family History Centre, said that Obama's and Biden's Irish ancestors - as well as the Irish ancestors of Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy, all emigrated to the United States within 10 years of each other.)

Barack Obama's Irish roots

In 2007, noted genealogist Megan Smolenyak traced then-candidate Obama’s Irish ancestry on his mother’s side, eventually finding that his third great-grandfather, Fulmoth Kearney, left Moneygall, Co Offaly for New York in 1850.

Fulmoth and his sister Margaret left Ireland bound for Ohio, where their father had inherited land from a brother. Other members of the Kearney family would gradually make their journey to America, but Fulmoth was the most recent immigrant on the maternal side of Obama's family.

In late 2014, a historic photo of Fulmoth Kearney was discovered.

Merlyn White, Obama's third cousin once removed, learned of her connection to the President while visiting a distant relation in Scotland. The news led her to reconsider an old family photo album she had inherited from her 107-year-old great-aunt.

In the album's pages, she found portraits of Fulmoth and his wife Charlotte, which she shared with Smolenyak.

Photo of Pres Obama's Irish ancestor Fulmoth Kearney (thx to gggranddaughter Merlyn White) http://t.co/pu7QHpoQcz pic.twitter.com/5pFbndVA0Y

— Megan Smolenyak🕵️‍♀️ 💙💛🌻 (@megansmolenyak) December 20, 2014

The discovery of the historic photo came on the heels of the discovery of Kearney's final resting place in Labette County’s Fairview Cemetery in Kansas, a mystery that was a loose end in Fulmoth's story, Smolenyak noted in a 2014 piece on her Huffington Post blog.

Smolenyak's discovery was one of the driving forces for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's visit to Ireland in May 2011. In Ireland, Obama delivered a well-attended speech in Dublin and, famously, raised a pint in Moneygall.

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May 23, 2011: US President Barack Obama raises a pint in Hayes Bar in his ancestral Moneygall,Co Offaly. (RollingNews.ie)

Today, Obama's Irish roots are commemorated at the Barack Obama Plaza, where there is a bronze statue of him and his wife Michelle Obama, in Co Offaly.

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Statue of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Barack Obama Plaza in Co Offaly.(© O'Dea at Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Joe Biden's Irish roots

Biden's Irish roots, which can be traced back to Co Mayo and Co Louth, are a bit more extensive and less distant than Obama's.

All eight of Joe Biden's great-great-grandparents on his mother Catherine Eugenia 'Jean' Finnegan's side were born in Ireland during the first half of the 19th century, and on his father Joseph R. Biden Sr.'s side, two great-grandparents were also born in Ireland.

On May 31, 1849, Owen Finnegan, Biden's great-great-grandfather from the remote Cooney Peninsula in Co Louth, arrived in New York aboard the ship Brothers, fleeing the last of the Famine. As was often the custom, he came before the rest of his family. A shoemaker by trade, he procured employment, and a year later, he sent for his family.

Meanwhile, Biden's great-great-grandparents Patrick and Catherine (nee Scanlon) Blewitt were from Ballina, Co Mayo.

In 2016, Biden visited Ireland in an official capacity as Vice President. He returned the following year in a personal capacity, where he helped turn the first sod as construction began on the new Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation center. In 2021, as President, he congratulated the center on its opening.

It was in April 2023, however, that Biden, as President of the United States, made a much-hyped 'homecoming' visit to Ireland that featured stops in Belfast, Louth, Dublin, and Mayo.

Thank you, Ireland, for the warm welcome – and for your work toward a brighter, shared future.
 
Together, we're building a better world for our kids and grandkids. pic.twitter.com/sXSLub3Qgl

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 19, 2023