This couple is Joseph Biden’s great-great-great grandparents,” says lead researcher Fiona Fitzsimons.

“In 1813, Mary Kearney, daughter of John Kearney of Marantragh, married John Finnegan of Templetown, Co Louth.

They are related through their Finnegan and Kearney ancestors on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth.Īccording to the research findings, the ancestors they have in common are Patrick, John Jnr and Anne Kearney who are all siblings and were born around the 1780s-90s.

Through that, researchers discovered that the now US President and David Joseph Donald Kearney (who is the father of Irish rugby’s Kearney brothers) are fifth cousins. In 2016 when Joe Biden was vice president of the United States, the White House contacted the Irish Family History Centre to uncover his Irish family tree. Taoiseach Leo Varadka shakes hands with US President Joe Biden during a St Patrick's Day Celebration reception and Shamrock presentation ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC, for St Patrick's Day. McKevitt met Joe Biden when he visited Louth in 2016 and had been hoping that the US president would stop by Co Louth during his visit this year. Ambrose Finnegan married Geraldine Blewitt and had a daughter, Catherine Eugenia (known as Jean), who is Joe Biden’s mother.Īmong Mr Biden’s relations still residing in Co Louth is local Councillor Andrea McKevitt who is his fifth cousin. James Finnegan, who was Joe Biden’s great-grandfather, eventually married Catherine Roche, with whom he had six children, including Ambrose Finnegan. In the 1850s, records show the family had settled in Seneca, New York. In the late 1840s, the family left Ireland for America. His great-great-grandfather was Owen Finnegan from the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth who married Jean Boyle in 1839.Īccording to the Irish Family History Centre, the first of their four children were born in Co Louth, including James Finnegan. Joe Biden’s main Irish links are with the Blewitts from Co Mayo and the Finnegans and Kearneys from Co Louth. His ties with the Emerald Isle are something the US president often addresses but, what do we know about his Irish connections and relatives? In a statement confirming the details of the trip, the White House said Mr Biden will deliver an address 'to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people” while in Mayo and Louth. The visit commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Rob kearney strong book