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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Moneygall makes merry as Obama visit nears---little town that could gets ready for big day

Posted on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 03:19 AM

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Moneygall, Offaly, Ireland; Reader, some times good things happen to good people.

The tiny village of Moneygall dreamed that one day the president of the United States would drop in to their little town and pay homage to his ancestor who left from there.

Many laughed at the audacity of the idea and others were deeply skeptical.

Moneygall said 'Yes we can.'

No one is laughing any more.

The president is coming on Monday and I have seen for myself a dream come through.

Jaded journalist that I am sometimes comes a story that lifts the spirit, a tale of the little village that could.

This is one.

It starts about four miles outside Moneygall where the south-bound N7 highway suddenly narrows to one lane and traffic cones cordon off the only exit.

Obama is coming to town.

A little further down we pass a brand new exit, especially built for Obama and his security detail.

We turn around and take the North-bound exit, the only way to approach Moneygall.

The first sight are hundreds of American and Irish flags fluttering in the afternoon breeze, about 100 of them set up on each side of the one street that goes through town.

Two new stores have opened in Moneygall in the past few weeks, a souvenir shop and a T shirt shop and the Obama coffee shop will open shortly.

The local newspaper has changed its name to the Obama Independent, people are literally dancing on the streets of Moneygall, there are more American flags than a Fourth of July pageant.

There is an Irish dance group called the Obama Stepdancers . They are busy practising their steps for the Obama hooley they tell me.

The best selling T shirt is 'What's the Crack Barack' and one that says 'Obama is feidir linn' Irish for 'yes we can.'

The little village of 300 or so souls is thronged with people, this Thursday afternoon, camera crews from all over the world hustle for the shot outside the Ollie Hayes pub or the nearby tiny house where Fulmuth Kearney left Ireland for the new world in 1850.

Welcome to Shangri La -- I mean Moneygall, home to the Great Grandfather of Barack Obama's great grandfather and on Monday May 23, the center of the known world.

It is hard to describe the excitement here. In the little village hall a few thousand passes to see Barack Obama on Monday in the village were handed out. The lucky ones headed for Ollie Hayes's pub to celebrate.

Flashing their admittance card they were as happy as if they had won the lottery.

Ollie himself is in fine fettle, ready to pour the most famous pint in Irish history when the great man himself ducks into his pub on Monday afternoon about three o'clock.

Henry Healy Obama's closest relative is a local hero, now starring in Tourism Ireland television ads extolling the Emerald Isle.

All is ready for the great occasion, The weather forecast is not great with rain from the west forecast. The magic in Moneygall will surely prevail these days one more time and the clouds will mysteriously divide and pass the little Offaly town.

Why not, sure the impossible dream has already happened, why not again.

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READ MORE:
President Obama to address massive outdoor rally in College Green Dublin

Moneygall’s own secret agents - village gears up for Obama’s visit

Ireland ready for Obama visit
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17 Comments

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longislander1940 | May 22, 2011, 07:53 PM EDT

Moneygall, get over it. If you cant, keep him. He's not doing anything here in the U S A.

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DANNYD1 | May 21, 2011, 08:32 AM EDT

Moneygall Congratulations hope you make a fortune from Obama's visit. Would be pleased if you could keep him and send us a keg of good Irish beer--be more than worth it to us.

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Morninghours | May 20, 2011, 11:54 PM EDT

Irishjule, it sounds as though what you read wasn't Obama's book, but a right-wing email (often called "Coil of Rage") that makes many of the same charges you make. However most of these charges about Obama's book have been proven to be false by snopes.com and others were shown to be taken out of context or totally misconstrued. It's funny how none of these folks claiming what Obama's book said ever bother to cite page numbers for all these statements they can recite so "accurately."

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 10:19 PM EDT

I read the whole book and I got what he was saying. You seem to have read it on a very superficial level and didn't understand it. You're taking everything out of context.

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Irishjule | May 20, 2011, 09:49 PM EDT

To deburca...I didn't buy Dreams from my Father, I borrowed it from the library and hope others will do the same. Didn't you read the book carefully where he says he stopped telling people his mother was white because he didn't want to be ingratiated to whites? Didn't you read the part where he called a white man a "cracker"? Do you recall that all the black people he associated with hated whites? Did you read that his parents and grandparents were communists? Did you really read the book?

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 06:01 PM EDT

slainte39 - they are made of 'bitter'. It would be sad if it wasn't so annoying to have to read it.

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slainte39 | May 20, 2011, 05:34 PM EDT

It is a big,big deal for the President of the United States to visit a small,small town in Ireland, no matter what your politics are. All you cynics, naysayers, and Obama bashers...let them (Moneygall) have their day in the limelight...how bitter can you people get???

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 05:24 PM EDT

typo: helped

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 05:24 PM EDT

@Irishjule, I read Dreams From My Father and it was excellent. In fact, that book help a lot of people decide to vote for him. You obviously don't read very well or perhaps, skim. None of the garbage John is spewing is traceable to that book, but I'm sure President Obama would not complain that you are talking people into buying his book!

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 05:18 PM EDT

@tommyot - stop listening to Beck and Rush. Grow up, become informed, make intelligent statements about policy and people may stop dismissing you as a FOX troll.

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deburca | May 20, 2011, 05:16 PM EDT

@John5319, the only people who have "anointed" our president are members of the FOX cult who mistake childish insults for political opinion.

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Irishjule | May 20, 2011, 05:16 PM EDT

Glenties, John is correct and so is tommyot. They got their information from Obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father. You should read it. It's a real eye-opener.

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Chiefjustice | May 20, 2011, 02:45 PM EDT

After reading the above preps. for the visit. I could not but think that , Are thay being done by 1930's Hollywood writers??? "Tisent grand, Th great man himself is comeing"

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McNamara31 | May 20, 2011, 01:30 PM EDT

@Glenties ...I'm with you on "calling out" and confronting posters who feel completely comfortable posting lies and slander. Everyone has a right to an opinion but not their own facts.

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John5319 | May 20, 2011, 11:01 AM EDT

The "anointed one" gets to have a special treat of HONOR in a little town that is going to have to pay for all the glitter that accompanies the Obama entourage. Remember this: "you made your bed now sleep in it", for it all comes with a COST, which future generations will PAY FOR long after his photo opportunity. Obama's foregin policy is DESPISED in America, and has just TOLD America's closest middle-east ally ... to "do it his way or else" !! The world knows a TYRANT when it sees one ... but you celebrate him just as Hitler was ... when he invaded Austria !!

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