While the event is free, those wishing to attend are asked to register on the US Embassy’s website.

US Ambassador Claire D Cronin described it as a “once in a generation event” and said she hopes families will come along.

“Ireland has a special place in President Biden’s heart and I know this visit will be very special to him,” she said. “I have no doubt that he will receive a Céad Míle Fáilte from the people of Ireland.”

Sisters Lauren and Emily Blewitt are sure to be among the crowds.

They are cousins of Mr Biden and, ahead of his Irish visit, are wondering if he will be pinching their chicken nuggets and chips again.

But they don’t mind if he does. After all, they say, he’s a very nice man.

It was from Ballina that the US President’s great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt and his family left for America more than 170 years ago at around the time of the Great Famine.

In recent months, local historians have been examining records and searching old maps of the town on the River Moy that celebrates its 300th anniversary this year.

And they have found the old brick fireplace of what is believed to have been Edward Blewitt’s old cottage, a fireplace probably built by Blewitt himself because it is known that his trade was brickmaking.

Ernie Caffrey owns the art gallery on Garden Street that skirts the old cottage curtilage.

He is hoping to show it to President Biden if he comes by to see where his great-great-grandfather and family warmed themselves against the winter cold that blew in from the Atlantic Ocean – and that eventually took them to their new life in America.

“We had two local historians studying this for the last
six months or more,” Mr Caffrey said.

“What we understand from the research is that Edward was a substantial brick manufacturer in Ballina in the 1820s to the 1840s.

“It appears he was an entrepreneur before entrepreneurs were ever heard of.

“He supplied 27,000 bricks for the cathedral being built in Ballina in the late 1820s.

“His family home was in the courtyard of this building. You can see it on a map we have from 1950 before it was partially demolished. All that’s left now is a fireplace and one part of a wall.”

Standing at the fireplace, Mr Caffrey points out that it was built with more bricks than a fireplace usually would be. It’s true that Edward Blewitt would have had no shortage of bricks, thanks to his business, but there was a sound practical reason for this home decor choice: bricks retain heat.

​Around the corner on Market Square, Anthony Heffernan is looking forward to the presidential visit.

After all, it was in Heffernan’s cafe that Joe and his family dined in 2016.

“Joe Biden came here to meet his relatives from Ballina,” Mr Heffernan said. “They met upstairs and it was a great occasion.

“The advertising the town got was fantastic, people are still talking about the visit.

​Mr Heffernan said a few well-dressed people had been spotted in the town last week, and believes they were scouting the town ahead of Mr Biden’s visit.  

“There was a few people around town who didn’t look like Irish police,” he said. “They were very well-dressed guys and they just seemed to be wandering around every nook and cranny.

“We figured it was Biden’s people having a look around again to see was the place safe.”

While Edward Blewitt may have left Ballina to seek his fortune, the Blewitt family name survives in the town. 

Mr Biden’s third cousins once removed Emily (12) and Lauren (10) Blewitt have met the US President twice, in 2016 and 2017.

“When we met him in 2017 he was turning the sod on the hospice and he was really nice.

“When we were having dinner in Castlebar, all our food came out to the table and he was eating our chicken nuggets and chips instead of the fancy food,” said Emily.

Their father, Joe Blewitt, is Mr Biden’s third cousin.

“We are really excited about his Irish visit,” he said, as Emily and Lauren got the bunting and flags ready.

“In 2016, we were supposed to meet him at three o’clock but I think it was five o’clock before we got to meet him because he couldn’t stop talking to people.”

“He was a nightmare for the secret service,” Mr Blewitt added with a smile.

“He’s a really nice fella. He’s a big family man and he’s really close to his roots in Mayo.

“Then we went to the White House in 2017 when he received his medal of freedom from former President Obama. He was vice-president then.

“And then we went to Washington for St Patrick’s Day and we met for half an hour and he was eating ice cream and having the craic.

“That’s the sort of fella he is, just a down-to-earth sort of lad.”​

In the Costume Company in Ballina, Jane Crean was busy in the workshop, stitching together red, white and blue bunting – even before news of Mr Biden’s visit was announced.

“The great thing is that the colours of the American flag are the same as the French flag, so even if he doesn’t get to come to Ballina we can always use the bunting as part of the celebrations for a French-themed event we are having this summer,” said a practical Ms Crean.

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