Hunter Biden warmly recalled his and his dad's, former US President Joe Biden, official visit to Ireland while chatting with RTÉ Radio's Oliver Callan on Friday morning.
Discussing the Biden family's "exceptional links to Ireland," Callan asked Hunter about his and his father's Presidential visit to Ireland.
In April 2023, Biden, who regularly touted his Irish roots throughout his political career, embarked on a Presidential visit to Ireland that included stops in Dublin, Dundalk, Carlingford, and Co Mayo.
"It was the most amazing thing," Hunter told RTÉ Radio on Friday.
"I still say that I was never more proud of a public appearance that my dad made when he was in Ballina when he came out from the cathedral. It was nighttime; they were playing Dropkick Murphys.
"If I want to cheer myself up, I still watch the video of that."
Hunter continued: "It was me, dad, and my Aunt Val. We'd always said that we would be there together, and we went to Knock, to the cathedral, and it was a very, very moving experience."
Catholics from around the world have traveled to worship at the sacred Knock Shrine in Ireland.
This morning, I had the honor of joining them – taking a few moments of private prayer in place steeped in God’s light. pic.twitter.com/xkSAILHdX6
— President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive) April 14, 2023
He reflected warmly on visiting Carlingford Lough, where his ancestor on the Finnegan side of his family left from, as well as Mayo, where the Blewitt side hails from.
Acknowledging that "everybody in Ireland knows this story," Hunter noted how his Finnegan ancestor left from the same place in Ireland as former US President Barack Obama's distant Irish ancestor.
"I know it probably drives the Irish a little bit crazy how many people in the United States of America claim to be Irish, but in my family, it is very important," Hunter remarked.
This week President Biden visited Carlingford Castle, and looked across the water to Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, from where Owen Finnegan – President Biden’s maternal great-great-grandfather – departed the port of Newry over 174 years ago. pic.twitter.com/P3lUV1IRyW
— The White House 46 Archived (@WhiteHouse46) April 16, 2023
When asked how his father is doing these days, Hunter said he's doing "great," before backtracking, saying "that's not true, he has stage four cancer, prostate [cancer] that metastasized into the bones, and so he has metastatic bone cancer - and I'm saying this because it's all public."
Hunter said the treatment his father is receiving is "incredibly depleting," but said his dad is "so tough, I wish he would complain a lot more than he does."
He continued: "That's the singular thing about my dad is his ability to get up in his life and not necessarily only for himself but for everyone. And that extends beyond my family in concentric circles to the country.
"And that's the same way that he feels right now. I mean, he's still working really hard to try to be out there to give some people some hope that there is a chance that we can return to some normalcy in the country and save our democracy."
The son of the former President said he has "no political aspirations," but instead aspires to be "as available and vocal as possible about the issues related to recovery, addiction, trauma, grief, the willingness and transparency to talk about it, to let people know they're not alone."
He added that he also aspires to "really speak my mind as it relates to what I think the existential threat that we currently face here in the United States, which, by the way, is important to the entire world, including Ireland.
"Our relationship with Ireland - I don't know whether we'd ever been in a more precarious place as it relates to our friendships around the globe."
Signing off from his chat with RTÉ Radio, Hunter said he'll be "coming soon" to Ireland.
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