US President Joe Biden was winding down an emotive visit to Ireland with a visit Friday to the celebrated Roman Catholic pilgrimage site of Knock, before delving deeper into his Irish family history. The Irish-American Democrat will later wrap up his three-day trip with an outdoors address to thousands of well-wishers at St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, northwest Ireland. In 1828, Biden's forebear Edward Blewitt sold the bricks that went into the construction of the Catholic cathedral, using the money to fund his family's later emigration to the United States. Biden arrives in Ireland's Knock for ancestral homeland visit. Video: AFP The picturesque riverside town of Ballina is proudly displaying US flags and red, white and blue bunting as locals buzz in anticipation of the visit. Ballina commissioned a five-metre-high mural of Biden when he won the 2020 presidential vote - and much of the trip has appeared designed by the White House to build up to a 2024 re-election bid. Biden still counts relatives living in the area, including Joe Blewitt, a third cousin, who works as a plumber. "It's emotional, it's a very proud day for our family and for Ireland," Blewitt, 43, told...
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