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Vice President Joe Biden remembers his Irish mother

By
PATRICK ROBERTS,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, January 9, 2010, 9:01 AM
Updated Saturday, January 9, 2010, 2:12 PM

 

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The Irish mother of Vice president Joe Biden died yesterday.
The Irish mother of Vice president Joe Biden died yesterday.

Vice President Joe Biden has been remembering his mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan, known as Jean, whose family came from Mayo, after she died yesterday aged 92.

"Together with my father, her husband of 61 years who passed away in 2002, we learned the dignity of hard work and that you are defined by your sense of honor," he said in the statement. "Her strength, which was immeasurable, will live on in all of us."

"Those of you who have met my mom, you know she's fairly politically astute, and she still runs the show," the vice president joked after she fell last year.

"You think I'm joking? I'm not," he said.

Catherine Finnegan was born July 7, 1917, in Scranton, Pa. Joe Biden grew up in a very Irish Catholic household where he remembered hearing from his mother's relatives about the Black and Tans. Biden later he became a huge admirer of Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone who he once described as his political hero,

"My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you," he said. "Everyone is your equal, and everyone is equal to you. My parents taught us to live our faith, and to treasure our families. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they just try hard enough."

"When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, and this is the God's truth, she sent me back out the street and told me, 'Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day.' And that's what I did."

Jean Biden helped her son when his first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash son after he was elected to the senate in 1972 and his two toddler sons were seriously injured.

"After the accident, she told me, 'Joey, God sends no cross that you cannot bear,'" Biden recalled.

His mother also defended him after a nun made a caustic comment about his stutter

Biden recalled his mother went straight down to the school and told the nun, "If you ever speak to my son like that again, I'll come back and rip that bonnet off your head. Do you understand me?"

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10 Comments

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Posted by manhattan on Jan 12, 2010, 11:50 PM EST
Didn't the sisters of charity wear bonnets? Just asking.
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Posted by Porickseantuny on Jan 12, 2010, 03:00 PM EST
Joe's recounting of his Mother's encounter with the Nun is about as authentic as his claim of Law School accomplishments. He should at least know that Nuns wear (wore) veils not bonnets. As the product of 12 years of education by Nuns, I attest that most were not the touchy feely variety as they attempted to teach 40-50 children per class. No time for sentiment! When one told me I was not as smart as my older brother, I worked harder, didn't whine about the looking glass theory ruining my psyche. They provided a great education under extenuating circumstances. Joe, as has been pointed out, forgot the about protecting the most vulnerable among us, the unborn.
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Posted by mrkennedy on Jan 11, 2010, 12:20 PM EST
Yes, Biden had strong affection and respect for his mother but unfortunately he did not honor her Catholicism with his Pro-choice voting record.
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Posted by mollymcgee on Jan 11, 2010, 11:14 AM EST
3 cheers for Bidens Mama...to bad there are so few like her left!!!
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Posted by McNamara31 on Jan 11, 2010, 10:19 AM EST
Our condolences to Joe and his family. It was obvious, every time he spoke of his mother, he had strong affection and respect for her.
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Posted by maureen1 on Jan 11, 2010, 10:06 AM EST
I too suffered from "bad" nuns. What amazed me then and even now was how they were allowed to disobey their superiors when told to cease their actions and get away with it. As a result, I turned my back on the church and decided the Golden Rule was the best religion one could live by.
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Posted by redspirit on Jan 11, 2010, 09:58 AM EST
Not all the nuns were "good" nuns. If you attended a Catholic school you soon found that out. It took me years to forgive the nun that nearly did me in with her caustic remarks and put downs.
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Posted by Joanhugh on Jan 11, 2010, 09:47 AM EST
All the good nuns who worked for years for no money and Joe Biden slams them all with this story about the nun who made a caustic comment about his stuttering. First I don't believe the story and if it is true how about all the other nuns he had. This is the only thing he remembers. He obviously does not remember anything he learned in religion class about the scantity of human life.
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Posted by Irishlassred on Jan 09, 2010, 06:22 PM EST
I read the VP's book a few years ago and was charmed by it. His Mom was from Scranton and my dad from Wilkes-Barre; it's neighboring city. No relevance just an observation. My condolences to his family I'm sure that Mrs. Biden will be greatly missed.
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Posted by Rebelforce on Jan 09, 2010, 10:01 AM EST
It's hard to believe that Joe Biden is the first Irish-Catholic Vice President in American history when you consider our country is over 225 years old. My condolences to the Biden family. RIP.
 


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