Canadian Prime Minister Visits Ancestral Homeland in Ireland
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to County Mayo on the second day of his state visit to the Republic of Ireland.
Carney spent Saturday in Dublin with Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and is scheduled to meet his cousins on Sunday in Aughagower, the village his grandparents, Robert and Nora Moran, left when they emigrated to Canada in 1925.
Carney has expressed pride in his family heritage, describing his Irish ancestry as a "big part of who I am."
Irish President Catherine Connolly met Carney at Westport House on Sunday morning.
During his visit to Mayo, the Canadian prime minister and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, are expected to attend Mass at the parish church and visit a graveyard where some of his relatives are buried.
Carney plans to meet more than 20 of his cousins, including Pat Carney and Maureen O'Malley, who are first cousins of his father and among the prime minister's closest Irish relatives.
Maureen's daughter, Rosaleen Heraty, spoke to Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ about the family connection.
"Mam and Pat's father was John Carney and he was the brother of Robert Carney, who is Mark Carney's grandfather. Imagine, his grandson is the prime minister of Canada," she said.
"It's all we can talk about, generations of the Carney clan, and we are so excited to finally meet him.
"If you compare photos of him and his grandfather Robert, there is an uncanny likeness. I noticed it when I spotted him on the telly when he was Governor of the Bank of England. I saw the name Carney and saw the face and said it to Mam.
"She hardly missed a beat and just said 'ah yeah, we haven't seen them for years'," said Heraty.
Heraty, who manages the Townhall Theatre in Westport, has been preparing for the civic reception on Sunday evening to honor Carney.
During the ceremony, Carney will be presented with a commemorative history of the Carney family, written by local Westport historian Harry Hughes, alongside fellow researchers and editors James Kelly and Micheál Casey.
Tenant Farmers Who Endured the Famine Aftermath
The Carney and Moran families were tenant farmers on the estate of Lord Sligo.
The Carney homestead, located in the townland of Ayle, was a typical rural dwelling of the period: a thatched cottage with two windows at the front. Nine people lived in two rooms, with a third room added later.
The Moran home was nearby, situated in the townland of Mace North.
Both Ayle and Mace were located in the parish of Aughagower, where local tradition holds that St Patrick stopped on his way to Croagh Patrick.
The prime minister's grandparents would have experienced significant hardship during their lives in Ireland, living through a period of upheaval and transformation following the Irish famine.
When they emigrated, they joined a mass exodus that saw over one million people leave the island.
The couple emigrated to Canada in 1925, married the following year, and had three sons.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the visit would be an opportunity for Carney to celebrate and explore his Irish heritage.
