Irish relatives of President Joe Biden are eagerly awaiting his arrival amid a “euphoria” of excitement around the American leader’s historic visit.
The finishing touches are being put to the ‘Welcome Home Joe’ signs, the American and Irish flags are being unfurled and locals in the President’s ancestral hometowns are preparing to roll out the red carpet for their guest of honour.
Mr Biden will jet into Belfast on Tuesday for a five-day trip to the island of Ireland, which will include several engagements north and south of the border.
After attending commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast, the US leader will travel to the Republic of Ireland capital Dublin. He will also stop in Co Louth and Co Mayo, where his ancestors lived before they emigrated to the US.
In the town of Carlingford in Louth, business owners are preparing to welcome Mr Biden back seven years after he visited as vice president.
Mr Biden can trace his ancestors to the nearby seaside village of Whitestown where his great-great grandfather Owen Finnegan once lived.
“There’s a great euphoria of excitement here in Co Louth as we eagerly await the visit of President Joe Biden back to his ancestral home,” said Andrea McKevitt, a local councillor and distant relative of Mr Biden.
In a video posted on Twitter, she said she “can’t wait to welcome my fifth cousin President Biden” back to the land of his roots.
Harry Jordan, owner of Carlingford Smoked Salmon, has concocted a special recipe in honour of the US President’s visit, and orders are pouring in. The "Potus 1” salmon is smoked using local whisky, apple wood and turf harvested from Irish bogs.
“I have a salmon smoked in his honour,” Mr Jordan told The National. “I have put the Irish and American flags on the label. It’s a one-off. I have orders taken for it already.
“I am retired now and just do it as a hobby, as a one-man band. But back when I had a restaurant president Bill Clinton and senator George Mitchell visited.
“They said [the salmon] was nice.
“Mitch McConnell also visited, and Jean Kennedy Smith, the former US ambassador to Ireland.”
Mr Jordan is hopeful that Mr Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland will reassure communities who are concerned about the future of tentative peace in the province. The restaurant owner lives so close to the border in the Republic of Ireland that he can see Northern Ireland from his home. Any resurgence of violence in the UK territory would have drastic consequences for people living on the other side of the boundary as well.
He said he hoped Mr Biden’s visit would help emphasise the importance of peace for people on either side of the border.
“I live on the border and my house is overlooking Northern Ireland, it’s only 600 metres away,” he said. “The Good Friday Agreement means my grandchildren can go to school in peace and come home in peace.”
Kevin Woods, who has earned the nickname of “Ireland’s Last Leprechaun Whisperer”, said President Biden was returning home rather than visiting a new place.
The Carlingford local, who runs a heritage site, told The National the presidential visit was hugely significant for the community and would emphasise the strong ties between Ireland and the US.
“We are welcoming him back because he is one of ours, even though his people have been gone for three or four generations,” Mr Woods said. “They were shoemakers from Whitestown. The last time he came here he went to see the remains of his ancestral home. Part of it is still there.”
Mr Woods said the visit would be culturally significant, given that more than 30 million US citizens claim Irish ancestry. It will also shine a light on the tourism industries in both countries that benefit from a constant stream of people visiting relatives and tracing ancestors.
“We get lots of people coming here from America. They are Irish-Americans. It goes both ways.”
The US President, meanwhile, has repeatedly said a trade deal with Britain is off the table if the terms of the Good Friday Agreement are not respected by the government.
Mr Biden’s tour of the island of Ireland comes at a sensitive time in Northern Ireland.
Scenes of violence against police during a dissident parade in Londonderry on Monday drew condemnation from politicians across Ireland.
A number of missiles were hurled by young people at a police vehicle monitoring the Easter parade in the Creggan area of the city.
The parade, organised by the Derry 1916 Commemoration Committee, started in the Central Drive area when a number of masked men in paramilitary-style dress carried the Irish flag and several republican banners.
A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesman said: “Our officers have come under attack in Creggan, with petrol bombs and other objects thrown at their vehicle while in attendance at an unnotified Easter parade.
“No injuries have been reported at this time. We would appeal for calm.”
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In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
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2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
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October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
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Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
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