RTE star Ryan Tubridy has praised US President Joe Biden for sending a letter of thanks to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation.
Tubridy also revealed that he had previously received a letter from Biden in 2016 which is a 'treasured possession'.
He told listeners on his RTE Radio One programme this morning: "Joe Biden is a great man for the letters.
"He sends beautiful letters to people, I'm very lucky to have one which he handwrote years ago when he came to Ireland.
"It's a really special letter for me, I'm a big fan of letters and I have a few in frames that I treasure and it is one of them.
"He sent a letter to the Mayo Roscommon hospice.
"You know that his family tree goes to Ballina in Co Mayo and the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth.
"He's never far away from his son Beau, he often mentions him which I think is very sweet.
"What a thoughtful letter from President Biden showing him at his best."
Biden, whose ancestors hail from 1800s Mayo, turned the first sod for the Mayo Hospice in 2017 and was proudly presented with a Mayo jersey.
The president had been hoping to make the trip to the site where the 14-bed hospice would be built with his son Beau, who died of cancer two years prior.
Writing to the foundation, Biden said: “Hospice care is about dignity, support and respect. Because of your empathy and care, I know the people of Mayo you help will be treated with the utmost decency and humanity during their time of greatest need,” he wrote to the palliative care service.
“It is an honour that my son Beau’s soul lives in the fabric of this special facility.”
The American president has a long history with County Mayo, has visited numerous times and has plenty of Irish cousins that have supported his journey from vice president under Obama to his election as president in 2020.
Ballina woman Laurita Blewitt is a fundraiser for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and can trace her relationship to Joe Biden 170 years back to their great, great, great grandfather.
Biden wrote: “My cousin, Laurita, dedicated herself to realise the vision of the Mayo Roscommon Hospice, and I am grateful for all of your efforts”.
“God bless you and those whom you care for with love and dignity at Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation. On behalf of the whole family, thank you,” he ended the letter.
The foundation is looking forward to welcoming the president back to his ancestral home and Chairman Mike Smith said “we look forward to welcoming him back to see the finished facility when he returns to Ireland in the future.”
