Senator Joe Biden
In April 1987, Irish America Publisher, Niall O’Dowd sat down with then-Senator Joe Biden for his first-ever interview with Irish America to talk about his political aspirations, his family, and his deep love of his Irish roots.
Biden’s national political career has certainly come full circle since its tragic beginnings. In 1972, then aged 29, just a few weeks into his first term as Junior Senator from Delaware, Biden’s first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash and his two sons were seriously injured. He almost quit politics and was only coaxed back from the brink by family and friends.
Biden has never forgotten those Irish roots, as this interview eloquently testifies. In that sense he is not dissimilar from another famous Irish American, Cardinal John O’Connor of New York who also hails from the same area and bears the same imprinting and pride in his heritage. Read more +
Vice President Joe Biden: Statesman & Everyman
Vice President Joe Biden is suddenly the most popular politician in Washington. On the fiscal cliff, he galloped to the rescue and cut the deal with Senator Mitch
McConnell, and now on gun control he is defying the conventional wisdom again and getting real traction behind his recommendations. He has met with the NRA, Walmart, and every major gun constituency, forcing a dialogue where none existed before and making clear that action will be taken to prevent another Sandy Hook.
Biden’s strong record in his more than 40 years in government – he was first elected to the Senate in 1972, just shy of 30 years old — has earned him respect from both sides of the political spectrum. As Maureen Dowd, writing in the New York Times stated, “In a time when American politics is so polarized Biden has managed the extraordinary trick of being able to appear reasonable to both sides. [He] can spread everything out on the table and negotiate his way through all of his former colleagues’ shortcomings, weaknesses, fears, and frailties.” Read more +
Irish America Hall of Fame Induction 2013
Born in the heavily Irish Pennsylvania town of Scranton, Vice President Joe Biden has been an elected public official for over 40 years. His reason for entering into politics? What he calls the “Irish ethic of loyalty” comes from a family history of public service. “In my family, politics wasn’t a dirty word, it was about righting things that were wrong,” Biden says. It is no surprise that one of his political icons is Wolfe Tone, who Biden described in a past interview as Senator with Irish America as “the embodiment of some of the things that I think are the noblest of all. Read more +
Joe Biden Joins Stephen Colbert
Rounding out his first week of hosting the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, viewers were treated to the most earnest Stephen Colbert he has allowed himself to be Thursday night when he interviewed Vice President Joe Biden. It was a vulnerable conversation shared between two men who both have experienced deep loss and found solace in their Irish Catholic faith. It was the type of candid conversation not usually seen on late-night TV and demonstrated exactly what the “real” Stephen Colbert, outside of his former conservative pundit persona, is capable of in his new host role.
In the nearly 20-minute interview, the two discussed the recent death of Biden’s son Beau, his faith, Biden’s advice from his mother and father, his role as VP and his relationship with Obama, and a potential presidential run (Colbert repeatedly advised him to). Biden even joked about Colbert running again: “You should run for president again, and I’ll be your vice president.” Read more +
Biden Family Visits Ireland
Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Ireland in June 2016 for a six-day trip through counties Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Mayo. Arriving with his brother, sister, daughter, and five grandchildren, Biden was formally welcomed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the Government Buildings in Dublin.
Though Biden had previously visited Ireland privately, Kenny told RTÉ News that this was his first trip as vice president. Biden had originally promised to make the trip with his son Beau, who died of brain cancer last year at the age of 46. In a keynote address at Dublin Castle, Biden said that despite Beau’s absence, “we decided we would bring the whole family.” Read more +
Joe Biden’s Irish Roots
Genealogist Megan Smolenyak traced President Joe Biden’s roots knowing he had strong ties to Ireland. What she found in President Biden’s genealogy is ties that bind the President to Counties Mayo and Louth.
How can you not love a name like Finnegan Biden? I find it charming when family names are given fresh life in ensuing generations, and that’s exactly what happened in the lineage bracketing President Joe Biden. His beloved mother Jean’s full name was Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden. Subtract “Catherine Eugenia” and you have the name of one of his granddaughters – Finnegan Biden. Whether she knows it or not, there’s a lot of history tucked into her first name.
My guess is that she’s heard some of it from her grandfather, who likes to tell tales about his own grandfather Ambrose Finnegan, but she probably doesn’t know everything I’m about to share. As a professional genealogist, I’m something of a retro-journalist who delves into people’s family histories, and given my own Irish roots, I have a soft spot for anyone who shares that heritage – from Barack Obama to Barry Manilow. So I suppose it was inevitable that President Biden would take a turn under my past-seeking microscope. Before probing more deeply, let’s step back and take a look at the big picture – well, the Irish part of that picture. Read more +