THEY say a week is a long time in politics but one week in particular will rank as one of the best in Ballina’s history after the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, made his only public address there during his Irish visit.

It seemed like no local went without an interview, a photograph or soundbite request as the media descended on the town in the run-up to last Friday. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan was another to receive a hero’s welcome on the night, Joe Biden’s cousins Joe Blewitt and Mary Bourke, local historian and genealogist Aileen Horkan all became seasoned pros. Michael Clarke, the local agricultural show chairman, was another pounced on by a visiting US camera crew.