Joe Biden in Ireland: President says Mayo is 'part of my soul'

Joe Biden arrives on stage to deliver a speech in Ballina, on the last day of his visit to the island of Ireland

President Joe Biden has reinforced his pride in his family links to Mayo in the Republic of Ireland saying the county was now "part of my soul".

He was addressing tens of thousands of people on the final part of his four-day visit to the island of Ireland.

Mr Biden said the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement was a reminder of the importance of peace.

On Friday night, President Bill Clinton arrived in Belfast ahead of events to mark the 1998 peace accord.

Mr Clinton tweeted to say he was honoured to be back.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar told those gathered in Ballina on Friday night that Mr Biden was "the most Irish of all American presidents".

President Joe Biden walked onto the stage at St Muredach's Cathedral to rapturous applause and to the sound of Dropkick Murphy's I'm Shipping Up from Boston.

"Hello Mayo, it's great to be hearing you all, it's great to be back here in Ballina," he said.

His speech encompassed the importance of peace, family and the ties between Ireland and America.

Joe Biden was welcomed by a huge crowd outside St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina

Mr Biden emphasised the deep-rooted connection he has to County Mayo.

"Over the years stories of this place have become part of my soul, part of my family lore," he said.

Mr Biden said he and his siblings were raised with "a fierce pride in our Irish ancestry".

Referencing the 1998 peace agreement, that largely ended almost 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland, Mr Biden said it was a reminder of "what you can accomplish when we work together in common cause".

President Biden, along with his son Hunter and sister Valerie, viewed a plaque in honour of his late son, Beau

As he finished up his speech, he shouted "Mayo for Sam" as the crowds cheered on.

The words are a reference to the county's decades-long desire to win the Sam Maguire Cup in the All-Ireland Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) final.

Earlier, Mr Biden had a chance encounter in Mayo with the priest who gave the last rites to his son Beau.

Beau Biden, the former Delaware Attorney General, died from brain cancer in 2015.

During a visit to Knock Shrine, the president met ex-US Army chaplain Fr Frank O'Grady who is now working at the shrine.

'We had a real reunion'

Fr O'Grady said it was a "real reunion" with Mr Biden and that he spent a "delightful 10 minutes with the president".

The priest added that he was "very surprised" when he got "a phone call to say the president wanted to see me".

"I hadn't seen him really in eight years since Beau died," he said.

"His son Hunter was there too, so we had a real reunion."

Fr Frank O'Grady is a former US Army chaplain who now works at Knock Shrine

The parish priest who brought about the meeting said it was a "wonderful, spontaneous thing".

Fr Richard Gibbons told BBC Radio's Ulster's Evening Extra programme he gave President Biden a tour of the basilica at Knock Shrine and said he spoke about his family, his faith and his son Beau.

"He [President Biden] was crying, it really affected him and then we said a prayer, said a decade of the rosary for his family," the priest said.

"He lit a candle and then he took a moment or two of private for prayer."

President Biden toured the basilica at Knock Shrine in County Mayo with Father Richard Gibbons

Knock Shrine is a pilgrimage site for Catholics. In 1879, locals said they saw an apparition of Mary, Joseph, John the Evangelist, angels and an altar with a cross and a lamb (representing Jesus).

Mr Biden, who was accompanied throughout his visit by his son Hunter and his sister Valerie Biden Owens, has links to County Mayo through his great grandfather Edward Blewitt.

Earlier, the president was presented with a brick from a fireplace that is the last surviving piece of his ancestral home in Ballina.

A double rainbow formed in the sky prior to the US President's arrival in Ballina

At the scene: Conor Neeson, BBC News NI, in Ballina

Heavy rain failed to dampen the mood among thousands of people gathered in Ballina ahead of President Biden's speech.

A double rainbow formed in the sky above the cathedral at one point, as The Coronas played for the crowd at an event held to welcome him.

Young and old mingled along the River Moy as the excitement started to build for the arrival of the guest of honour.

Children on the shoulders of their parents waved US flags and Irish flags.

The music was keeping everyone warmed up for the main act - Mr Biden returning as president.

President Biden and Father Gibbons touch the original gable wall of the church at Knock Shrine

Mr Biden also made a private visit to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar that is dedicated to his son, Beau.

The president also visited the North Mayo Heritage Centre, that works with people around the world who want to trace their ancestry from Mayo.

'Welcome home'

St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina is lit up ahead of Friday's festivities

Ballina councillor Mark Duffy said people were eagerly awaiting the president's arrival.

"This is a homecoming event, it's a welcome home where he has family and friends in the area," he told BBC News NI.

Mags Downey Martin of Ballina Chamber of Commerce said it was "an epic, unbelievable, out of this world experience for Ballina".

"I mean you can't quantify it. You cannot say what it means for us," she said.

President Biden was presented with a brick from a fireplace that is the last surviving piece of his ancestral home in Ballina

A star-studded line-up of Irish musicians, including The Academic, The Chieftains and The Coronas, entertained the crowd at St Muredach's Cathedral ahead of Mr Biden's visit on Friday night.

Coronas' frontman Danny O'Reilly told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that the band was "buzzing" to perform for another US president, having previously played for Barack Obama during his 2011 visit.

President Biden views a portrait of himself in Ballina on Friday

"It's one of those bucket list things you're just happy to be involved in," he added.

The Mayo senior men's and women's Gaelic Athletic Association football teams also took to the stage in Ballina.

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Locals hope President Biden will pose for a selfie by this pop-art mural

On Thursday, President Biden declared he was home as he made an historic address to the Irish Parliament.

'Working more closely'

He said the UK "should be working closer" with Ireland to support Northern Ireland.

On Friday, Tanaiste (deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin said he believed the remarks were an exhortation to everybody to work together.

"I think the context was clear from the president, he was speaking in the context of all of us," Mr Martin said.

"He mentions the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Ireland."

Mr Biden and Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar outside Dublin Castle on Thursday night

Mr Martin also praised a speech the president gave in Belfast on Wednesday, saying it achieved the right balance and would help the political atmosphere in Northern Ireland.

"I think it will have served a purpose, in respect of that I have no doubt," he said.

President Biden departed from Ireland on Friday night.

Declan Harvey and Tara Mills explore the text of the Good Friday Agreement - the deal which heralded the end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

They look at what the agreement actually said and hear from some of the people who helped get the deal across the line.

Listen to all episodes of Year '98: The Making of the Good Friday Agreement on BBC Sounds.