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The Road From Scranton to the White House

By Pat Gallinagh - 2021

This St. Patrick's Day the Irish will have two reasons to celebrate
For one of their numbers has ascended to lead the world's most powerful state
Joe Biden's Irish roots stretch back 170 years and more
To counties on both the east and west coasts of Ireland's scenic shore

In the province of Connaught lies the lovely county of Mayo
Where it is said stones are plentiful and crops can hardly grow
On the west it borders the Atlantic, with county Sligo to the east
And over the many centuries it has known both famine and feast

But perhaps it is best known for the leaders it has bred
Who have excelled in every walk of life as they earned their daily bread
There have been authors, actors, musicians and politicians by the score
And their climb to the highest heights has made for storied lore

The Blewitt's left Mayo with hopes of forging a new life
They fled famine, poverty, persecution and sectarian bloody strife
They faced challenges and tragedy with tenacity and strength
And to help preserve the Union they would fight to any length

On Ireland's east coast the "wee" county of Louth does lie
The smallest in land mass but for freedom its people were willing to die
It was from there the Finnegans's departed and helped set our tale in motion
That would eventually lead to White House after decades of hard labor and devotion

They weren't met with open arms for the Know-Nothing party was out in force
And Irish Catholic immigrants were the main target of their scurrilous discourse
They were greeted with "No Irish Need Apply" signs throughout the land
But through hard work and perseverance they did scuttle the bigot's plan

At first the Finnegan's settled in New York but soon to Pennsylvania they did move
It was there the Blewitt's had settled where their mettle they did prove
Not long after the Finnegan's came to Scranton which was a fortuitous choice
For it was there Joe Biden married Jean Finnegan and little Joey got his voice

His blue collar roots served him well as he grew into a man
He saw that the things you earned meant more than gifts he came to understand
His dad taught him to get back up whenever you've been knocked down
His mother told to fight the bullies when they tried to push him around

He learned that a speech impediment and lack of size and wealth really didn't matter
With hard work and dedication he cleared life's hurdles as climbed the political ladder
Most Irish are blessed with a gifted tongue that makes politics a natural calling
From the city council of Wilmington to the U.S. Senate, the barriers kept falling

Sometimes tragedy seems to follow triumph for the Irish like the setting sun
And seems to strike in earnest before the task had hardly begun
Before he was even sworn in he lost his wife and daughter in a car crash
He almost lost the will to live but he fought off the depression and put it in the trash

Two failed bids for the president, brain surgery and the loss of his eldest son
Didn't detour Joe Biden from his goals for his fight had just begun
At seventy-eight he unseated an incumbent president, a feat rarely seen
With the largest popular vote in history showing what democracy does mean

He will face many challenges that will test his leadership skills
He'll approach them with resolution and resourcefulness to get Congress to pass his bills
And for the poor and downtrodden he, like Obama, will be a source of inspiration
That no matter the color of your skin, your age or religion you can rise to lead our nation

So on this St. Patrick's Day let our ancestral pride be loudly shouted
For of our forty-sixth presidents, twenty three had Irish roots that sprouted
For he proved that perseverance and determination often trump wealth and privilege
And that discrimination and intolerance are in a democracy a vile sacrilege.

Author's Note

The inspiration for this poem came when the author, the eldest son of two Irish immigrants, heard that Joe Biden was running for president and that he was 3/5 Irish with his Irish ancestors hailing from counties Mayo and Louth. The author's mother maiden name was Mary Joyce and she was from county Mayo where many family members still reside and many of Joe Biden's relatives still live.

The Blewitt's and the Finnegin's left Ireland in the late 1840's and early 1850's just as America was experiencing one of its periodic waves of xenophobia They fled the famine like millions of others but weren't greeted with open arms. The Know Nothings, a.k.a. American Party, a nativist and white supremacist group which was a forerunner of hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi's, the Proud Boys and other hate groups, directed their venom at Irish Catholics who they felt were "ignorant, uncouth, combative, addicted to alcohol and bred like rabbits" according to late columnist Jimmy Breslin. It was after the Unite the Right march on Charllotsville, VA where white supremacists carried torches and sported swastikas and confederate flags and chanted anti-Semitic and racial taunts that Joe Biden decided at age 78 to make a third run at the presidency and fight for the soul of America.

He won by a landslide and anyone of Irish heritage should be proud.

County Mayo has produced many famous sons and daughters like Mary Robinson , the first women to lead the Republic of Ireland, Enda Kenny the Taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland) from 2011 - 2017 and Admiral William Brown, father of the Argentinian navy. Others have roots to Mayo like the late legendary actor John Wayne and dancer Michael Flatley. One of the author's relatives Grainnne Hambly is a world renowned harpist. 23 of our America's 46 presidents have Irish roots but only two were Catholics and only one from a blue collar, working class background and that is Joe Biden, all Irishman should beaming with pride with his accomplishment.

More of Pat's Poetry