"It feels like coming home," said US President Joe Biden as he was welcomed to The Windsor Bar in Dundalk, Co Louth, after his walkabout in the town centre.
"Irish are the only people in the world, in my view, who are nostalgic about the future," Mr Biden said.
He said hope beats in the hearts of all people "but particularly in the Irish".
"Coming here feels like coming home"
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 12, 2023
US President @JoeBiden says "its good to be back" in Ireland, adding that while here, he wonders why anyone would ever want to leave | Live updates: https://t.co/O1zX67gS0h pic.twitter.com/lXxyYN4hZy
It was the last engagement of the day for the US President, who had been welcomed to Dublin earlier by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Irish relatives of the US president had gathered at The Windsor Bar on Dublin Street in Dundalk to hear his remarks.
Those in attendance included Mr Biden's fourth cousin John Owen Finnegan and fifth cousin Andrea McEvitt, who are both from Co Louth.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin gave a short address before Mr Biden spoke, saying "welcome home to County Louth".
The US president began his speech in the pub by speaking about Mr Martin's trip to Washington last year as Taoiseach, referencing how Mr Martin got Covid before their meeting in the White House.
Mr Biden said that Louth held a special place in the heart of his late mother, who could trace her roots back to the "wee county".
"I wish our mom, Katherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden were here today, she'd be so damn proud. Louth held such a special place in her heart and today we carry her home. We think about her all the time and coming here feels like coming home, it really does."
The US president reflected on his tour of Carlingford Castle, saying the castle "was likely one of the last glimpses the Finnegan family had when they set sail for America".
"Every time I come here, the welcome from the people on the streets, they've just been so gracious to us. Earlier today I had a chance to visit another special place - Carlingford Castle, high in the hill.
"It was probably one of the last glimpses the Finnegan family saw when they set sail for America, and they set sail with courage and hope, and they crossed the sea, and two generations brought this island home to Scranton, Pennsylvania where I was raised, and my mother lived."
"Hope built both our nations," he added.
And he recalled his grandfather's comment: "Remember Joey, the best drop of blood in you is Irish."
'Keep the faith'
"My message to you today is quite simple is - to keep the faith."
Mr Biden recalled how his ancestors left Ireland around the same time as Fulmoth Kearney, President Barack Obama's great-great-great-grandfather from Moneygall, Offaly.
"They would never have dreamed that their grandsons would have been presidents of the United States, President Obama and President Biden."
He said he and his sister Valerie, who has joined him on this trip, came from modest means, "but we were taught that anything's possible".
He said he could describe the Irish in one word - "possibilities".
"It feels like coming home."
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 12, 2023
US President Joe Biden began his day in Belfast, before flying to Dublin and then travelling on to explore his ancestral roots in Co Louth in what was a busy first day of his visit to Ireland | Read more: https://t.co/I1IubmdCPW pic.twitter.com/OpfK3t9Oqj
The US president also paid tribute to his cousin Rob Kearney, whom he said "was a hell of a rugby player and beat the hell out of the black and tans" in Soldier Field, Chicago, in an apparent reference to New Zealand's All Blacks team.
In closing his remarks at the Dundalk pub, Mr Biden said "thank you for the welcome - the bad news is we'll be back".
"Thank you, thank you and I love you," Mr Biden said to the crowd.
Other invited guests at the speech included local TDs Ged Nash of Labour, Ruairí Ó Murchú from Sinn Féin and Independent TD Peter Fitzpatrick.
Crowds had also lined the street outside the bar.
The US president began his visit in Northern Ireland, where he met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In Belfast, he said he hoped the political institutions in Northern Ireland would be restored soon. He noted that a stable devolved government could deliver an economic windfall for the region and said US companies wanted to invest.
President Biden made the comments in a keynote address at Ulster University in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
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