Joe Biden's Ancestral Home In Ireland Erupts With Joy After Election Win

Joe Biden created history last week by garnering more votes than any other presidential candidate, shattering the record set by former President Barack Obama in 2008. His win has given the people of Ireland a reason to celebrate as they believe that one of their own is now holding one of the most powerful positions in the world.

Biden’s ancestral home, a small town called Ballina in County Mayo, is celebrating his victory after he was declared the 46th president of the United States Saturday, Associated Press reported. Biden is the great-great-great-grandson of Edward Blewitt, who left Ireland and came to the U.S. in the mid-1840s.

Joe Blewitt, a resident of Ballina and a cousin of Biden’s, revealed that the whole town is ecstatic over the result.

“Now he’ll be the President of the United States, they are delighted, they are absolutely delighted. To think, one of their own is one of the most powerful men in the world,” Blewitt said.

Blewitt was invited to the White House when Biden was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2017, Associated Press reported. The medal was presented to him by Obama.

Blewitt also believes that there is a possibility of building a “Joe Biden plaza” in Ballina after the victory.

Another person who is happy with the outcome of the election is Beryl McCrainey Slevin, who has been living in Ballina for the last 15 years but originally hails from California. Slevin hopes that Biden’s presidency will be able to unite the nation.

“I’m hoping that after this election we can really work on building alliances with everyone in the country. We are all American and the ideals of America are so important globally, that I think it’s really important that we come together once again as a nation and continue the work of building the American dream for everyone,” Slevin told the media outlet.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin also congratulated Biden on his win, calling him “a true friend of the nation throughout his life.”

“I look forward to working with him in the years ahead. I also look forward to welcoming him back home when the circumstances allow,” Martin tweeted.

Ballina is also famous for being the birthplace of Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first woman president.