OK! As the Rolling Stones lyrics would say, “It’s All Over Now” and that is this historical President election that just happened here in the United States of America. If your name is Timothy or Pat or Joe Biden as long as you come from Ireland, there’s a welcome on the mat, or should I say the White House. “The successful Democratic candidate Joe Biden President-elect can trace his Irish roots back to both the Blewitt’s from Co Mayo and the Finnegan’s from Co Louth.”
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. Joseph Sr.’s parents, Mary Elizabeth (née Robinette) Biden (1894–1943) and Joseph Harry Biden (1893–1941), an oil businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, were of English, French, and Irish descent. Biden’s paternal third great-grandfather, William Biden (1787–1849), was born in Sussex, England, left England, immigrated to the United States and settled in Maryland. Jean’s parents were Geraldine Catherine (née Blewitt) Finnegan and Ambrose Joseph Finnegan. Jean was of Irish descent, with roots variously attributed to County Louth and County Derry. Irish genealogists presented Joe Biden with his Irish maternal family history on his visit there in 2016.
Joe’s maternal great-grandfather (Geraldine’s father), Edward Francis Blewitt, the child of Irish emigrants from Rappagh, Ballina, County Mayo, was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. With Biden having two great-great grandfathers being born in Ireland (Owen Finnegan and Patrick Blewitt), this makes Joe Biden 12.5% Irish. Biden still has distant relatives in the town of Ballina, Mayo and on the opposite side of Ireland Joe Biden’s great-grand father James Finnegan came from Carlingford, County Louth. In both counties they are celebrating with the passion of his relationship with both counties and we say here send congratulations as I am sure he will be calling to see you all when this pandemic is over.
I am so sure that Adrian Flannelly is a very happy man with the Mayo connection and will never let us forget it. Up Mayo outcha boyo.
This came to me from one of Ireland’s biggest music ambassadors, none other than Greg Harrington. He has told me in his words, “I had the honor of performing for Joe Biden some years ago, a performance that my dad came over from Ireland to see. I chose music by a blind Irish composer from County Louth as the then-Vice President’s great-grandfather was a blind musician who played the violin from County Louth in Ireland. It was one of my favorite performances of “O’Carolan’s Concerto” and one that he loved. Afterwards, we had a beautiful conversation. He told me about standing in front of a mirror when he was a kid struggling with his stutter and reciting W.B. Yeats to overcome that fear. And the difficulties of being onstage in front of others.
“We spoke about family and music. And loss. He was so gracious and kind. And just before he departed, the then Vice-President finished our conversation with ‘Greg, if I had your talent, I’d be President.’
“Apparently Mr. President, you have an abundance of talent.” Now wasn’t that nice, and good on yea Greg.
This Wednesday the Irish Business Organization of New York are holding the IBO November Virtual Evening from 6:30 to 7:45 pm on Zoom. Their Guest Speaker is Ian McLernon, President and CEO Americas at Remy Cointreau. Ian will share lessons learned from his global career and for these trying times he’ll provide insights on how to navigate VUCA.
The President and CEO Americas for Remy Cointreau, the French Spirits Group, Ian is originally from Co Antrim, and his wife Julia is from Co Derry. They keep strong links with Ireland with a vacation house in Co Donegal, and Ian is on the US Board of Co-Operation Ireland. You can join them to Network Reciprocate Communicate.
They will send the ZOOM log-in a few hours before the event. If you don’t see it by 5:30 PM, check your spam filter! For more information, email info@ibonewyork.org.
Here is an invitation you cannot miss from The Irish Repertory Theatre. You are cordially invited to attend a virtual performance of “On Beckett/In Screen, An Exploration of the works of Samuel Beckett”. Conceived and Performed by Tony Award winner Bill Irwin, On Beckett/In Screen begins digital performances on Tuesday November 17 at 7 pm EDT and is part of Irish Repertory Theatre’s 2020 Digital Fall Season series of A Performance on Screen.
Performances will be broadcast on Tuesday November 17 at 7pm, Wednesday November 18 at 3pm and 8pm, Thursday November 19 at 7pm*, Friday November 20 at 8pm, Saturday November 21 at 3pm* and 8pm and Sunday November 22 at 3pm All times EST. Performances marked with an asterisk (*) will feature captions.
Bill Irwin can’t escape Samuel Beckett. The pandemic hasn’t changed this. Two years ago, Irwin took the Irish Rep stage to premiere On Beckett, his award-winning meditation on Samuel Beckett’s works and language. Since then, Covid-19 has upended daily life worldwide and live theatre is on hold as venues stand empty. In this time of anxiety and loss, Irwin revisits the words of Samuel Beckett and returns alone to the Irish Rep virtual stage to bring us On Beckett/In Screen, a new meditation filmed for our current times.
In this intimate evening, Irwin will mine the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor to explore a performer’s relationship to Beckett in the time of COVID. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, to every side of Beckett’s work – including Waiting for Godot, The Unnamable and Texts for Nothing – will allow audiences to experience the Nobel Prize winner’s language in compelling new ways.
For more information call their Box Office at (212) 727-2737 or visit IrishRep.org.
See you all next week when I am hopefully Out&About again…