 Mr. President has been suggested that had your esteemed ancestor known That soil from the family home would eventually we worth 50 cents a packet. He would never have left Mr. President I'm a working journalist with the newsroom of Irish radio and television radio television I was asked to be master of ceremonies at this Function it was my privilege to accept it was suggested that I was asked by the Secret Service because I afforded the best cover in case of bad weather In fact, Mr. President, I am the product of both the Protestant and the Catholic traditions in this country and as such I welcomed your declared enthusiasm for peace and prosperity in this country and Justice both for those at home and for those abroad. Thank you, Mr. President We would like to make a number of presentations to you sir if you could approach the podium We have a gift a presentation Be made by the chairman of the ballet Parine Community Council Martin Neville It's a pictorial record. Mr. President in the unlikely event that there isn't a photograph of this lying around It's a pictorial event miss a record, Mr. President of everyday life in this parish. It's bound in leather It's a gift to you from the people of this parish. We hope that you like it more never like to say a few words of welcome Mr. President Mrs. Reagan distinguished guests Reverend father's ladies and gentlemen cared me la falter or if go there On behalf of the community here. I extend to you a sincere and warm welcome to our village of ballet Parine Mr. President these are ballet Parine's greatest hours Which will always be cherished by us and never forgotten We are especially proud to welcome you to the home of your ancestors You are now one of our own What we have presented you sir, Mr. President is a presentation book in which we set down details of your links with our parish And of the community we live in today We hope it will revive pleasant memories of your visit to ballet Parine Mr. President sir Another gift to be made to you will be made by a councillor Ned Brennan It is the coat of arms of this county and a rather heavy coat of arms to you, Mr. President And with councillor Brennan or a number of his county council colleagues with your permission, Mr. President I'll show it to the to our audience I assure you that's worn on the wall not around the neck Mr. President is extremely We have one more presentation to make Mr. President and that is a plaque. It's a gift from the parish. I'd like to call on Denny Walsh Representing the although he's from a another town land So we say he represents the entire parish, Mr. President if I can describe it for those who can't see it It's a penal cross a chalice and a carved representation of the church just up the road where the president's Great grandfather was baptized The councillor Brennan would like to say a few words of welcome to the president Mr. President Mrs. Reagan Mr. Minister Mrs. Barry distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the people of South to Prairie It's a great honor and privilege for me to extend a very warm and sincere Kate Milafonte To the president of the United States Mr. Ronan Reagan and Mrs. Reagan to belly poor Ian today Up until a few months ago Few would have thought that the president of the greatest nation in the world would be here in our midst in this small But very beautiful village of belly poor Ian, but the Irish Always have a longing a longing for their homeland Even when it their distance away from it is measured not alone by thousands of miles But also by many generations and so it must have been with you, Mr. President because today you are with us in your ancestral home a belly poor Ian and how very welcome you are As you know, Mr. President the band that ties Ireland and America is a very close one The Irish were very much to the forefront in building up your country into the great nation It is today up until the past 20 years The movement was always from the green shamrock shore to the shores of America However, Ireland has now taken her place among the developed countries of the world and the tide of emigration has all but seized American investment in this country In terms of industry and tourism has played a major part in our development and there are many fine examples of that have investment in South to Prairie where American Industrialists have found our county to be an ideal location to invest our high technology technology industries in Ireland Many of whom are native come can compete with the best in the world And I don't want you to be worried, Mr. President when I tell you that some of them are now actually exporting computer components to your own Silicon Valley I Know that our close industrial links will continue and that you will play your part in encouraging American investment here As a matter of fact, I think you have already started by personally creating a major new Tourist industry in Bally-Poreen. I would like to I would like to finish by extending once again a very warm and sincere Irish Welcome to you and to your good wife And I hope you will have many fond memories of your visit here today When we receive confirmation of your visits the council my council felt that you should be presenting With something which will always bring back the memories of your visits to South to Prairie We therefore commissioned the irons that we had the honor to present you with Mr. President It's rare in the career of a newscaster that he has the opportunity to say in person Ladies and gentlemen the president of the United States Thank you very much In the business that I formerly was in I would have to say this is a very difficult spot To be introduced to you who have waited so patiently following this wonderful talent that we've seen here and uh I should have gone on first and then you should have followed To close the show But thank you very much Nancy and I are most grateful to be with you here today and I'll take a chance and say Veen Thernaherin Did I get it right? All right Well, it's difficult to express my appreciation to all of you I feel like I am about to drown everyone in a bath of nostalgia Of all the honors and gifts that have been afforded me as president this visit Is the one that I will cherish dearly You see I didn't know much about my I didn't know much about my family background Not because of a lack of interest, but because my father Was orphaned before he was six years old And now thanks to you and the efforts of good people who have dug into the history of a poor immigrant family I know at last whence I came And this has given my soul a new conment Contentment and that is a joyous feeling It is like coming home after a long journey You see my father Having been orphaned so young he knew nothing of his roots also And god rest his soul I told the father I think he's here too today And very pleased and happy to know That this is whence he came Robert Robert Frost a renowned american poet once said Home is the place where when you have to go there They have to take you in Well, it's been so long since my great grandfather set out they you don't have to take me in So i'm Certainly thankful for this wonderful homecoming today I can't think of a place on the planet. I would rather claim as my roots more than Ballypourine county tic-rae My great grandfather left here in a time of stress seeking to better himself and his family For when I've told we were a poor family But my ancestors took with them a treasure An indomitable spirit that was cultivated in the rich soil of this county And today I come back to you As a descendant of people who are buried here in paupers graves Perhaps this is god's way of Reminding us that we must always treat every individual no matter what his or her station in life With dignity and respect And who knows Someday that person's child or grandchild might grow up to become the prime minister of ireland or president of the united states Looking around town today, I was struck by the similarity between Ballypourine And the town the small town in illinois where I was born tampico Of course, there's one thing you have that we didn't have in tampico We didn't have a ronald reagan lounge in town Well, the spirit is the same This spirit of warmth friendliness and openness in tampico and ballypourine And you make me feel very much at home What unites us is our shared heritage and the common values of our two peoples The So many irish men and women from every walk of life played a role in creating the dream of america One was charles thompson secretary of the continental congress And who designed the first great seal of the united states And i'm certainly proud to be part of that great irish american tradition From the time of our revolution when irish men filled the ranks of the continental army To the building of the railroads to the cultural contributions of individuals like the magnificent tenor john mccormick And the athletic achievements of the great heavyweight boxing champion john l sullivan All of them are part of a great legacy Speaking of sports, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate an organization of which all irish men and women can be proud An organization that this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary The gaelic athletic association I understand it was formed a hundred years ago in tipperary to foster the culture and games of traditional ireland Some of you may be aware that I began my career as a sports announcer a sports broadcaster So I had an early appreciation for sporting competition Now congratulations to all of you during this gaa centennial celebration I I also understand that not too far from here Is the home of the great irish novelist charles joseph keckham The irish identity flourished in the united states irish men and women proud of their heritage can be found in every walk of life I even have some of them in my cabinet One of them traces his maternal roots to michelstown just down the road from balipurin And he and I have almost the same name I'm talking about secretary of the treasury don riggan He spells it r e g a n We're all of the same clan. We're all cousins I tried to tell the secretary one day That his branch of the family Spelled it that way because they just couldn't handle as many letters as ours could And then I received a paper from ireland That told me that the clan to which we belong That in it those who said Regan and spelled it that way were the professional people and the educators And only the common laborers Called it reagan So meet a common laborer The first job I ever got I was 14 years old and they put a pick and a shovel in my hand And my father told me that that was fitting and becoming To one of our name The bond between our two countries runs deep and strong and i'm proud to be here In recognition and celebration of our ties that bind My roots in ballet purine and county tip rary are little different than millions of other americans Who find their roots in towns and counties all over the isle of ireland I just feel exceptionally lucky To have this chance to visit you Last year a member of my staff came through town and recorded some messages from you It was quite a tape and I was moved deeply by the sentiments that you expressed One of your townsmen sang me a bit of a tune about sean tracy and a few lines stuck in my mind They went like this not that i'll sing And i'll never more roam from my own native home in tip rary so far away Well the regans roamed to america, but Now we're back And nancy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for coming out to welcome us for the warmth of your welcome God bless you all Ladies and gentlemen the president of the united states, mr. Ronald Reagan This is your last chance to say hello and farewell to the president of the united states