Obama makes jubilant visit to his Irish roots - Boston Globe

"The economy needs a lift, the people need a lift, and this brings a big lift,'' said John Kennedy, a county official named after John F. Kennedy, whose Irish visit came in 1963, the year he was born. Nearby, John Donovan, 44, waited to welcome Obama to his well-kept house, which was where Kearney once lived. "I'm so nervous I can't talk,'' said Donovan, who listed his occupations — in "descending order'' — as shopkeeper, funeral director, and farmer.