Obama visits land of his ancestors

Published on 24 May 2011 at 09:07

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Is féidir linn,” headlines the Irish Independent. On the occasion of his 24 hour visit to economically stricken Ireland, US president Barack Obama pronounced his campaign slogan “Yes, we can” in Irish “to deliver a powerful message of determination and hope.” In what the Dublin daily describes as a “momentous day”, President Obama told a 40,000 crowd in the Irish capital that "This little country that inspires the biggest things — your best days are still ahead. Our greatest triumphs in America and Ireland alike are still to come.” Earlier that day, the President visited his ancestral home of Moneygall, County Offaly, “[o]rdering a pint of Guinness in Ollie Hayes's bar.” A week after Queen Elizabeth’s visit, the Dublin daily is once again in transports: The “descendant of a teenage emigrant from a small town in Ireland — a man who personifies the American dream. A natural orator, he reminded us how the possibility of a brighter future shimmers before us”.

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