US President Joe Biden shares an open letter to the people of Mayo

US President Joe Biden has sent an open letter to Mayo residents to mark the county’s annual day of celebration.

Mayo Day’ took place yesterday with a variety of events to celebrate both the people living at home and the diaspora abroad.

The US president has routes stretching back to Ballina and expressed pride in his Mayo ancestry over the weekend.

In the open letter, Mr Biden said: “Céad míle fáilte to all who celebrate Mayo Day.

“The places we come from and the places that shape us climb into our hearts and never leave us.

“My great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, has his roots in Ballina, County Mayo, where his family boarded a ship to fulfill the promise of America 165 years ago.

“He instilled in his family – including my mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden – a deep, overwhelming pride in his heritage. It’s a pride I carry with me to this day, and a pride I know I share with the many people of County Mayo.”

He said Mayo offers his family a lot to be proud of.

“From the cliffs of Downpatrick Head in the Wild Atlantic to the view of Clew Bay on Croagh Patrick, the beauty of County Mayo is matched only by the generosity and kindness of its people – a kindness I felt when I visited a few years ago and reconnected with my Irish family,” he said

“The heart and spirit of Castlebar to Westport to Crossmolina and all the towns in between make us who we are. And they are a reminder that we are all connected to where we call home.

“Being Irish – my mother always told me this – is about family, faith and the belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. As we celebrate Mayo Day, may we continue to be proud of how County Mayo has shaped us,” added the US President

This weekend’s Mayo Day marked its eighth year of celebration and the first with events since the Covid-19 pandemic.

It saw the Home is Where the Heart is festival in Castlebar with a wide range of activities and events taking place alongside other events across the county.

Cllr Michael Smyth, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, said: “Mayo Day is a celebration of the ‘Spirit of Mayo’ in communities worldwide, a celebration of all that is great about our county and its people, one day in the year that Mayo people can claim,”