Mr Reagan’s visit eagerly awaited

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 25

Mr Reagan’s visit eagerly awaited

NZPA-AAP London Reagan fever has broken out in the tiny Irish village of Ballyporeen, which the American President is expected to visit in June. The mud from the field where Mr Reagan’s Irish ancestor once lived in little more than a shack is already on sale at 30p (65c) a bag, “The Times” newspaper has reported. Ronald Reagan driver’s licence-holders and pictures of him on horseback sell among the more traditional Irish souvenirs. Extra supplies of Reagan commemmorative T-shirts have been ordered for the local dra-pery-cum-grocery store The 350 residents of the one-street village in Tipperary confidently expect Mr Reagan to visit his great-grandfather’s birthplace when he visits IreSince 1980, when Debrett’s traced Mr Reagan’s roots to Ballyporeen, the more enterprising inhabitants have

been preparing for his visit. John and Mary O’Farrell have renamed their pub the Ronald Reagan Lounge and inside, above an open fire, is a picture of the President and a chart of his family tree. Mr Reagan has written four letters to the couple and is apparently proud that he has his very own Irish saloon. Mr O’Farrell hopes that Mr Reagan will have glass of Guinness in the pub. “I am as certain he will open the doors and order a drink as I am certain of anything in this life,” he said.

“He will be made very welcome, particularly as the eyes of the world will be upon us.” The idea of selling the mud, which is dug up and wrapped in cellophane by Mrs O’Farrell, came after a visit to South Africa where her husband saw gold dust being marketed in a similar fashion.

“It was selling like hot cakes, and so we thought it was a great idea for the soil

where the President’s ancestors once had a home,” Mr O’Farrell said. City dwellers who have sniggered at the villagers’ efforts to cash in on the expected tourist influx are disregarded in Ballyporeen. “If people don’t make something of it they are very, very foolish,” said the Roman Catholic curate, Father Eanna Condon. The village, a few kilometres off the main road from Dublin to Cork, has no hotel, but hotel rooms in neighbouring areas are already fully booked. Ballyporeen also has no restaurant or public toilet and the public telephone system works on Sundays only at certain'hours.

“The system does not lead the Western world,” Father Condon said.

With the rest of the village, he expects the new and long-promised automatic system to be installed before June.