US President Joe Biden is due to visit his ancestral counties of Louth and Mayo next week. 

The President is visiting Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement but is keen to visit the places his family came from. 

Henry Healy knows a bit about what to expect when a US President comes to town; he is distantly related to Barack Obama and got to meet him when he visited Moneygall, Offaly in 2011. 

There was, he recalls, a lot of work done before the President arrived, with teams of officials inspecting the town. 

“They’ll engage with locals and suss them out but they will give nothing away,” Mr Healy told The Anton Savage Show. 

“They play their cards close to their chest.” 

GEB6AC Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States tours with Enda Kenny the Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach), the towns of Ballina,

The visit put an unprecedented spotlight on Moneygall and Mr Healy said locals enjoyed the attention that came with it. 

“It is an exciting time for the communities that are going to have this visit,” he said. 

“I know [there were] preparations we went through at the time - be it new pavements, paint being done, flowerbeds being revitalised, shrubs and everything. 

“The best thing is best foot forward - and rightly so.

“The local authorities are excellent in assisting the communities and I know we had great assistance from Offaly County Council.” 

President Barack Obama arrives in the County Offaly village of Moneygall. Photocall Ireland

The spirit of the visit lives on in the nearby Barack Obama Plaza - which has its own Barack Obama Museum attached to it. 

“At the end of the day, it’s how your town and village is going to be portrayed on TV and you want to put your best foot forward,” Mr Healy said. 

“There is a positive spin off in the aftermath; people will come and visit.” 

Since the 2011 visit, Mr Healy has even met up in the States with his famous cousin for a pint. 

It is unlikely President Biden’s cousins will be able to do the same with him - the 46th President is teetotal - but his relatives are still looking forward to having a “bit of craic” with him. 

Main image: Joe Biden in Mayo. Picture by: Alamy.com