Anthony Heffernan was at a concert in St Michael’s church in Ballina, Co Mayo, on Sunday evening when almost the entire audience suddenly seemed distracted by their phones.
News had just broken that Joe Biden would not, after all, be contesting the US presidential election in November and as soon as the last note was sung those present were riveted to their phones sharing every detail as a murmur of surprise filled the venue.
The restaurateur who in 2016 hosted the then US vice-president and 19 of his relatives said that while there was initial shock, “I suppose everyone knew there was some little thing [wrong] with all the talk of should he carry on or should he quit?”
Heffernan recalls the excitement of that day when the vice-president turned up with a security detail of 70. They included snipers on surrounding roofs, while an armoured vehicle “with two machine guns sitting on the seat” kept its engine running for the duration of the family meal attended by several of Biden’s Blewitt cousins from the locality.
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Heffernan is amazed at the number of American tourists who turn up at his premises asking whether it was the place where President Biden ate, and said Ballina owed him a debt for the way he promoted the place.
“I am glad for himself, in a way, but sorry for Ireland. We have lost a great advocate,” Heffernan said. “He seemed very tired. There seemed to be an awful lot of pressure on him as the only person who was going to stop Trump. That was a big burden.”
[ Bidens embrace extended Irish family in Co MayoOpens in new window ]
[ ‘As you can imagine, the president of America doesn’t come to Ballina very often’Opens in new window ]
Ernie Caffrey, a former Fine Gael senator and county councillor, met the president on his return visit to the town last year and presented him with a brick from the fireplace of the house where Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather lived until 1850 when the family left for the US.
The 87-year-old former politician said his overwhelming feeling when he heard the news was one of sadness, while also believing it was the right decision at this stage.
“It is a sad end to a great career but I think he made the right decision. It would be terrible to see him in there as president and not able to function.
“I am sad for him and sad for the country. He would be regarded as Ireland’s president nearly.”
A lot has changed, he said, since Biden was in Ballina last year. “We all try to defy mother nature but you will only defy her for so long.”
A solitary tattered American flag, clearly a relic of that 2023 visit, flew on one shop in the town underlining how Biden’s fortunes have changed since thousands of people lined the Moy river to welcome him last year.
“Sad but inevitable” seemed to be the view of most locals when asked how they felt about him pulling out of the election.
The most surprised people were two US tourists, Elizabeth Costello and Tracey Porter from Connecticut.
“We are very surprised,” said Costello. “We did not think he would leave. I think it is a positive. We need someone younger running.”
As if assassination attempts and increasingly polarised politics weren’t excitement enough, she thinks discourse will get even more heated in her home country.
“Trump will be worried about Kamala [Harris] so they are going to get more vicious.”
Stephen Irwin from Ballina also believes the US president has made the correct decision “because of his age and his health”.
“He is the leader of the free world – it is time for him to step down. Of course he will be a loss to the town.”
Dorothy Hennigan, who lives outside Ballina, sounded sympathetic. “The poor fellow needs a rest. There should be a younger president.”
Hugh Daly, who was making his way through the rain-sodden town on a mobility scooter is, at 83, just two years older than Biden. “I am not surprised. It’s his age. He is a very nice man but you have to make room for other people.”
The Joe Biden mural erected in 2020 was vandalised in protest at the president’s position on Gaza and more than 2,000 people have signed a petition asking for it to be removed over the same issue. But no one approached by The Irish Times on Monday raised the issue – although not everyone was a fan.
“I don’t give a f**k. He doesn’t know who I am and he is not my president,” said one young man.
David O’Malley part of the community clean-up committee who spearheaded the mural project, said it was a privilege to have a US president with Ballina connections visit last year. “And I hope he will come back.”
And there are those who will see Ballina’s loss as a win for somewhere else.
One optimistic Leitrim man posted on Facebook on Sunday evening: “Are there any Harrises around Eslin or Gortletteragh? We need to get in early.”
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