Obama likely to visit 'Lost Tomb,' resting place of early ancestor, in Kilkenny on Irish trip
By: Niall O'Dowd | Published Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 3:55 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 10:08 PM
This column was first to predict Obama would visit Ireland this May and now I predict Barack Obama will visit Dublin, Moneygall and likely Kilkenny City where the 'lost tomb' of his long ago relative was recently discovered.
Obama is due in Ireland on May 23rd.
St.Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny is where the remains of Bishop John Kearney , Obama's sixth generation granduncle, is buried.
The story of the discovery of his tomb reads like a Dan Brown plot.
John Kearney was the Bishop of Ossory and a former provost of Trinity College who died in Kilkenny city at the Bishop's Palace in 1813. It is now the headquarters of the Heritage Council.
Film maker Gabriel Murray, who has made a documentary on Obama's Irish roots, finally found “Obama’s Lost Tomb” inside the 13th century St. Canice’s Cathedral.
Murray, along with Cathedral assistant Frances Moore, used a centuries-old map to identify a hidden vault under the floor of St. Canice’s.
They deciphered the Latin on the hundreds of tombs inside the vault, when they came across Bishop John Kearney’s resting place, number 19 on the map, just 20 yards from the main entrance.
Kilkenny's relative proximity to Moneygall --it is about 60 miles would make it a obvious choice for a major address by Obama after Moneygall.
It is also the only known physical family connection.
Moneygall is where his sixth generation ancestor Fulmuth Kearney left from to move to America.
A trip to Northern Ireland has been specifically ruled out according to sources who say that British Prime Minister Cameron would have to be there to greet him and the two men are due to meet in London a day later.
White House sources say they have been swamped with offers for Obama to speak in Ireland but the advance team is only just being put in place now.
Now the exciting prospect of a visit by the 44th president of the United States is on the horizon.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.jessie89 | Apr 09, 2011, 07:18 PM EDT
im loving this Irish humor so much i can't even think straight... laughing out loud seriously :)
EireinAmerica | Apr 06, 2011, 01:36 PM EDT
It would be great if Dermot Morgan and Ardal O'Hanlon were there in priest garb and protest signs when he arrived saying, "Down with this sort of thing!...Careful Now!"
maloney | Mar 30, 2011, 02:02 PM EDT
Barry obama has NO Irish in him at all. He is nothing more than a black or African man with a little brit in him and a lot of bull.
Gearoid4 | Mar 27, 2011, 03:44 PM EDT
To be sure, sorr, the visit of the prez to the Ole Sod will bring a tear to many's an eye of the long lost diaspora who could not accompany him over. To be sure, it will do no harm to the electoral prospects in the likes of Boston or Noo Yawk. He may even buy that ruined castle where his chieftain ancestors used to reside and even retire there.
nousnous | Mar 25, 2011, 01:02 PM EDT
Obama going to to Ireland to find the "lost tomb" and after that he can fly to Africa to find his "lost birth certificate".
curranart | Mar 24, 2011, 10:14 AM EDT
Lost Tomb it is called and lost it is.Who cares anyway, privilaged stuff for the privilaged.
jamieLM | Mar 24, 2011, 09:54 AM EDT
Niall - The bishop wouldn't be an ancestor if he was an uncle with any number of "greats" in front. Your ancestor is someone you directly descend from, like one's great-great grandfathers or great-great grandmothers. Anyone else is your distant extended family - family members who were related to your ancestors. Obama doesn't descend from this bishop, so the (uncle) bishop isn't his ancestor - just a brother of his ancestor, making the bishop a very distant family member of Pres. Obama.
Collette2 | Mar 24, 2011, 02:43 AM EDT
Listening to you guy's through your comments the one sure things is; there's nothing like Irish humour. Iv'e had the recommended 'belly laugh' for the day.
seamusmac | Mar 24, 2011, 02:43 AM EDT
I couldn,t give two shits about it.
Morninghours | Mar 24, 2011, 01:20 AM EDT
After reading all the birthers and bigots posting here, I can only say thank God McCain-Palin didn't win the election. They would have taken the economy that crashed on Bush's watch and turned that recession into a full-scale Depression. Like most GOP candidates and Bush Jr., the two of them don't have enough brain cells to rub together.
pflynn70 | Mar 23, 2011, 11:19 PM EDT
I just wish we could find his friggin birth certificate as easy as it was to find ancestors of hundreds of years ago. Or is Bush hiding it? He blames Bush for everything else. The man's a complete failure!
Niall O'Dowd | Mar 23, 2011, 06:26 PM EDT
The ancestor was a Protestant bishop, not catholic
jamieLM | Mar 23, 2011, 06:19 PM EDT
Right, elektros. The bishop can't be an ancestor - only a possible family member of an ancestor. I'd like to see the documented genealogical research on the bishop being related to Obama's ancestor.
seanomelbourne | Mar 23, 2011, 06:11 PM EDT
think again elektros
KLennox | Mar 23, 2011, 05:03 PM EDT
How feckin stupid are your readers?
jdi2269 | Mar 23, 2011, 04:49 PM EDT
ISN'T IT INTERESTING YOU CAN FIND AN ANCESTOR FOR OBAMA IN IRELAND, HOWEVER NO ONE CAN FIND A SINGLE GIRL THAT OBAMA EVER DATED! (AND THE SHEEP AREN'T TALKING)
elektros | Mar 23, 2011, 04:11 PM EDT
A catholic bishop couldn't actually be anyone's ancestor, at least not legitimately, now could he?
RedBranch | Mar 23, 2011, 03:50 PM EDT
All together now....There's no one 128th. Irish as Barack O'Bama.
irishbob | Mar 23, 2011, 02:45 PM EDT
It’s not surprising Obama has discovered an Irish ancestor. Believe me, if this numbnuts were going to Russia, his lackies would find some way to come up with long lost relatives that were once sent to the Gulags by some Russian Tsar. Probably for the crime of being a “Community Organizer” which just goes to prove the apple does not fall far from the tree.
whiteycat | Mar 23, 2011, 02:02 PM EDT
Just like the book Dreams of my father I am sure he will have fake stories to discuss.No one is a better blarney speaker than Osa...oops Obama
whiteycat | Mar 23, 2011, 01:56 PM EDT
He needs another vacation. He just cannot cope with it all.Why is this news?
RWBohn49 | Mar 23, 2011, 01:35 PM EDT
"Now the exciting prospect of a visit by the 43rd president of the United States is on the horizon." "W" was the 43rd president, "O" is the 44th president. Is Bush going to Ireland, or was it a typ"O".
antoman | Mar 23, 2011, 01:16 PM EDT
@jcaulfield-We just deployed 100,000 Irish to America.90% percent of them from Cork.Let nature take its course.I reckon about 30-35 years.
jcaulfield | Mar 23, 2011, 01:07 PM EDT
There are two Irish camps in America, the Irish Protestant Camp and the Irish Catholic Camp. The Protestants have been so successful that they have managed to put more than 20 of their men, Oboma included, into the White House and the Catholics have been so fragmented that they have only managed to elect JFK. This is something to think about.
peterrocco | Mar 23, 2011, 01:00 PM EDT
the only use for his trip is to announce he will speak to the british p.m. and tell him it is time for a declaration of intent to leave ireland. all this flowery sentimental crap is bogus, like the peace process which only pleases the british diaspora who support. it is worse than partition.
antoman | Mar 23, 2011, 10:52 AM EDT
@IrishJets47-I hear ya.I still sometimes trip up and say Osama.
IrishJets47 | Mar 23, 2011, 10:38 AM EDT
Not much big on Obama find it very hard to believe he even part irish with a last name like that.
ChiChione | Mar 23, 2011, 10:35 AM EDT
Mr. O'Dowd: President Obama is the 44th President of the United States. The 43rd President was George W. Bush.
denisbergin | Mar 23, 2011, 09:44 AM EDT
Just be aware that (a) there is no firm evidence that the bishop's father and the remotest Obama Irish ancestor (Joseph Kearney of Shinrone) were brothers; (b) even if they were, the bishop would be a distant and removed cousin of the President; (c) the President's Kearney ancestors had been emigrating to the US since the 1780s - Fulmoth in 1850 (and his parents in 1851) were simply the last to leave.
antoman | Mar 23, 2011, 09:44 AM EDT
To look at President Obama is to remember the rape sheds in Virginia America.The English shipped us Irish over there as slaves to work on their plantations.Because our skin burned,Irish women would be put in huts with black men so that the offspring would not burn while working the fields.Are you shaking your head in disbelief?Its true.
gaelhound | Mar 23, 2011, 09:37 AM EDT
It is all about 2012 and getting whatever is left of the Irish American voting bloc. I predict at least one major gaffe about the connection to or culture of Ireland.
Paradigm | Mar 23, 2011, 09:32 AM EDT
I just wonder who's making a cod of who? The Irish are related to everyone where its good for a story and I doubt if dithering Obama has much of a clue about Ireland, let alone Kilkenny and Moneygall, except that its 'out there' somewhere. The more I see of Presidents from the U.S (the West) the more convinced I am that the 'Wise Men' came from the east!
antoman | Mar 23, 2011, 09:28 AM EDT
The Queen of England must be very powerful to say that she can come to Ireland and have the President of America as a personal bodyguard.
francisquinn | Mar 23, 2011, 09:21 AM EDT
Maybe the Irish can find a job for him as a cemetery caretaker....as a decision maker he is awful...his "clear cut" policy on Libya is as clear as mud....it changes each day.....this job would be good for him....he can change flowers on the graves each day...
jamieLM | Mar 23, 2011, 08:36 AM EDT
I just wonder how much of an emotional connection he'll have to a sixth generation granduncle - not even a grandfather. It seems like a stretch. I doubt he grew up hearing very many stories, if any, about Ireland and his Irish ancestors and family members. At least he'll be seeing a beautiful country and should be impressed by the landscape and those among the Irish people who decide to welcome him as a guest to their country, regardless of politics.
antoman | Mar 23, 2011, 08:04 AM EDT
Given the comments here by members about his birth certificate.I'm reminded of the film The Omen.Perhaps it would be wise if the tomb was opened and inspected just to be sure what lays inside is human and not the remains of a dog.One thing I'm certain of is that he will be received very warmly here in Ireland by the people.