Plan B Forum

US President Barack Obama has used an open-air speech in the Irish capital to reaffirm US-Irish ties, at the start of a week-long tour of Europe.

Mr Obama praised the Irish people for striving to overcome sectarian differences and financial difficulties.

He was addressing thousands of cheering people in Dublin's College Green.

Earlier he visited Moneygall, a small village in County Offaly that was home to one of his ancestors who emigrated to the US in 1850.

On Monday afternoon, crowds lined the streets in Moneygall - which has just 300 residents - to welcome the Obamas to the village that was home to the president's great-great-great grandfather, a shoemaker.

Locals greeted Mr Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama with cries of "Welcome home!" as they entered the village.

The couple visited the ancestral home of the Kearney family, shook hands with well-wishers lining Moneygall's flag-bedecked main street and enjoyed supping on a pint of Guinness - or a half, in the first lady's case - in Ollie Hayes' pub, one of the village's two drinking establishments.

'The president pays his way,' said Mr Obama as he slapped down some money on the bar”


"Hello Dublin! Hello Ireland! My name is Barack Obama of the Moneygall Obamas, and I've come home to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way," said the US president as he began his evening address. (He's pissed, on quarter of a pint? Ed.)

He then said in somewhat stilted Gaelic that he was happy to be in the Republic of Ireland.

"Whenever peace is challenged... America will stand by you always in your pursuit of peace," he said.

Village of 300 residents, 140km (90 miles) south-west of Dublin
Moneygall has two pubs, but no bank, cash machine or petrol station
President Obama's great-great-great-grandfather on his mother's side was a shoemaker in Moneygall
His son, Falmouth Kearney, emigrated to New York in 1850 at the age of 19 at the height of Ireland's Great Famine
President Obama was given a guided tour of the old Kearney family home and met extended family members

The Obamas had landed in Dublin earlier on Monday amid tight security following the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan three weeks ago.

Mr Obama met Irish President Mary McAleese, and also held talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Mr Obama is now flying to the UK, earlier than expected to avoid a potential delay due to the ash cloud being emitted from a volcano in Iceland.

Later this week he will visit Poland and then France, where he will attend a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) major world powers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13496918

Some video of Obama's motorcade getting stuck on the hump outside the American embassy in Dublin earlier today. Listen for the nasty scraping sound after about 10 seconds. That's the sump gone. Or the muffler.

The crowd reaction is charming: "Nice bit of driving," shouts one local wag. "Need a push?" says another.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/20 ... eland-live

He sure likes to globe-trot on the taxpayer's dime.

dgs49 wrote:And aren't the Irish an odd lot? I have been admonished by Irishmen on a couple of occasions not to refer to myself as "Irish," since I was born and am a citizen of the U.S.

Finally, after two straight presidents who didn't appreciate the taste of a fine French burgundy, Buckingham Palace tonight had a chance to put on the Ritz for a first family who enjoy a long dinner and luscious wine.

Most notable from the wine cellars of the famous palace: A Echezeaux Grand Cru 1990, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, that goes for $1,000 - $1,700 per bottle in the United States.

There were a bunch of other wines, like Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin champagne and a very nice $170 1963 port President and first lady Michelle Obama, who are noted for dinner dates at Washington's finest restaurants, have probably had before. [See photos of Michelle Obama.]

But the Echezeaux Grand Cru 1990 is a different thing altogether, something even reviewer Robert Parker says is a rare treat for the super rich. He gave it 93 points in 1992 and, of course, it's only supposed to get better in the bottle.

Check out his comments:

93 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

January 1992

The Grands Echezeaux is broader than the Echezeaux, with more black-raspberry and black-cherry elements in its smoky, exotic nose, as well as a longer, more opulent and fleshy finish. Slightly superior to the Echezeaux, its lifeline should be similar - between 1995-2010. The DRC 1990s, all of which were bottled in April/May, are among the deepest colored wines from this domaine that I have tasted in the last decade. Moreover, they are firmly structured, with significant tannins from both the vintage and from the aging in 100% new oak barrels. For the fortunate few who have had the discretionary income to afford the other great vintages of the DRC from the eighties, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1989, the question is - are the 1990s superior? I am not sure they are any better than the 1980s, 1985, and 1988s, but they undoubtedly represent a classic, concentrated, long-lived style of wine. Moreover, all of these wines should have a more graceful evolution and broader window of drinkability than the tannic 1988s, as well as potentially greater longevity than the succulent and opulent 1985s. All of these offerings are outstanding, with that tell-tale complex, exotic fragrance that the DRC routinely achieves.

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washin ... -1600-vino

Scooter wrote:

dgs49 wrote:And aren't the Irish an odd lot? I have been admonished by Irishmen on a couple of occasions not to refer to myself as "Irish," since I was born and am a citizen of the U.S.

Pure horseshit.

Anyone who travels to Ireland and has a drop of Irish blood in them is welcomed by the locals as a fellow Irish(wo)man.