Northern Irish First Minister Peter Robinson said recently that if re-elected, US President Barack Obama will pay a visit to Northern Ireland.

Ireland’s ninth president will travel to Derry City next Sunday, in his first official engagement.

Ollie Hayes runs a cozy pub in Moneygall, County Offaly. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It was at Ollie Hayes Pub, after all, that President Barack Obama tossed back a pint when he visited Ireland back in May.

As Ireland prepares for the Presidential visit this summer RTE have put together an A to Z of reasons why Michelle Obama is so popular in Ireland.

The U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, paid a visit to Barack Obama’s ancestral home in Ireland on Thursday night.
 
The U.S. envoy was researching the claims that Moneygall in County Offaly is the home to Fulmouth Kearney, a third great-grandfather of President Barack Obama.
 
Ambassador Rooney, who owns the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been traveling Ireland extensively since his appointment in July.
 
Last month, he visited the tomb of a John Kearney in County Kilkenny. He was a 19th Century bishop and provost of Trinity College in Dublin. Supposedly, he is a third great grand-uncle of Obama.
 
Hayes's Bar on Moneygall’s main street was the focal point for Rooney’s visit. The pub usually opens lethargically after 6 p.m., but yesterday it was open and full by 4 p.m. The bar has an "Obama Corner," and housed a large congregation of Obama supporters during the presidential election last year.
 
Publican Ollie Hayes said: "This is an historic day. Drink prices are down after the budget and the American ambassador is coming – two things I thought would never happen.”
 
The ambassador’s visit has fueled speculation that the exercise may be a test-run for an Obama visit to Moneygall next year.