I'm home' Biden delivers an Irish ode to the American dream

John F Kennedy set the template for US presidential forays to Ireland with a rapturous visit in 1963 that he called the best four days of his life

- Rory Carroll

Joe Biden’s visit last week did not quite match that fervour but at times it came close, alchemising politics, diplomacy and the personal into a feelgood glow. Standing in Ireland’s legislature, Biden raised his arms to heaven, saying: “Well, Mom, you said it would happen. I’m at home. I’m home. I wish I could stay longer.”

It was corny but true. This is the most Irish of presidents since Kennedy, a man steeped in Irish ancestry who cannot make a speech without citing Irish poets, proverbs, myths. He had visited before, but to come as president was to consecrate the relationship between the US and Ireland.

He was late for engagements and he rambled. There were gaffes. He confused the All Blacks with the Black and Tans. He recast the foreign minister, Micheál Martin, a Corkman, as a proud son of Louth.