ON HOME GROUND Joe Biden is pictured meeting locals in Ballina when he visited as Vice-President back in 2016. Hopes are high that the President will return to help celebrate the town's 300 birthday next year. Pic: Maxwells
Oisín McGovern
A VISIT from US President Joe Biden could still be on the cards for the Ballina 2023, The Mayo News has learned.
Chairman of Ballina 2023 Cllr Jarlath Munnelly told this newspaper yesterday (Monday) that organisers remain hopeful that the US President will visit his ancestral home next year.
Cllr Munnelly said a formal invitation has been extended to Biden, who last visited the town in 2016 while serving as Vice-President.
Local representatives had previously supported a presidential visit from Biden to mark Ballina’s 300-year anniversary.
“We would hope that he will come. Obviously, Joe Biden is a busy man, he’s got lots of competing demands on his schedule,” Cllr Munnelly said.
“We did issue an invitation as a steering group, in conjunction in the county council. We’ve been working with other partners to try and bring him over. If Joe Biden wants to come, he’ll be more than welcome.
“We’re going to have a very successful next year in Ballina anyway, but certainly it would enhance it if the US President came,” he added.
The formal launch of Ballina 2023 took place last week.
The year-long celebrations are set to include a wide variety of historical, musical and cultural events to commemorate the 300-year anniversary of the founding of Ballina.
Biden’s Ballina visit still on the cards
