Joy for Irish village as Obama comes 'home'

US President Barack Obama stepped back in time more than 160 years on Monday when he visited the tiny Irish village where his ancestor Falmouth Kearney was born. The most powerful man on the planet flew into Moneygall in the rural heart of Ireland, from where his great-great-great-grandfather had left to seek his fortune in the United States. Obama smiled broadly as he left the Marine One helicopter, which landed on the local Gaelic games field, while his wife Michelle held closed her trench coat against the wind. With security extremely tight for the visit, Moneygall's 300 residents were security-checked and had to queue to get tickets to be allowed back into the village in the rural heart of Ireland. Wrapped up against the stiff breeze and occasional heavy rain showers, they crammed in behind the barricades, wearing Ireland hats and waving flags as they awaited the president's arrival. They erupted into cheers as the presidential motorcade appeared around the corner. The Obamas emerged from the car and were greeted by local officials and one man who had been waiting more eagerly than anyone -- Henry Healy, a 26-year-old who is the president's eighth cousin. Michelle Obama hugged the clearly delighted young man, who works as an accounts manager for a local plumbing firm. It was the first time Healy had met his distant cousin, although he was invited by Irish-American Democrats to attend his inauguration in 2009. Then the Obamas went over to the waiting crowd, with residents yelling "Welcome home, you're very welcome" and one even managed to kiss the First Lady. There was a photograph to remember for one family as the president held a baby that was passed from the crowd to him. "Thank you so much for coming," the president yelled to the crowd, as smartly suited Secret Service men kept a close watch amid a forest of hands held out to shake his. Surrounded by deep green pastures, Moneygall -- or Muine Gall (Foreigners' Thicket) in Gaelic -- boasts a Roman Catholic church, five shops, a post office, a school, a police station and two pubs. The village was spruced up for the occasion, and the smell of fresh paint and the sound of strings whipping against the newly-erected flagpoles filled the air. While much is known about Obama's Kenyan heritage, less is known about his Irish roots. Speaking in Dublin, Obama said it was "heartwarming" to be on the Emerald Isle. "The friendship and the bond between the United States and Ireland could not be stronger. It is not just a matter of strategic interest, it's not just a matter of foreign policy. For the United States, Ireland carries a blood link with it," he said. "For the millions of Irish Americans, this continues to symbolise home, the homeland and the extraordinary traditions of an extraordinary people." Obama's links to Moneygall were discovered in 2007, when he was running for the presidency. US records tallied exactly with those held in the Church of Ireland church at nearby Templeharry, the closest Protestant church to the village. Falmouth Kearney was one of at least three children born to shoemaker Joseph Kearney and his wife Phoebe Donovan. In 1850, with Ireland ravaged by famine, the 19-year-old left the County Offaly village for the new world, arriving in New York before settling in Ohio. When famine struck in the 1840s, nearly a quarter of Offaly's population starved to death, emigrated or perished within five years. Joseph's younger brother Francis had left for America some years earlier. A week before his death in 1848, he filed a will leaving a tract of land to Joseph "if he comes to this country". Joseph sailed into New York in April 1849. Falmouth followed him, arriving there on March 20, 1850. To pay for his family to emigrate, it is likely that Joseph Kearney sold his rights to property in Moneygall.