Ballina businessman calls for Biden mural to be removed

A petition to remove a mural of US President Joe Biden in Ballina, Co Mayo, has received 1,200 signatures, according to a local businessman.

Paul McGinty has called for the mural to be removed because, he said, Mr Biden has discredited Ireland’s stance on Palestine.

Last month,the White House said that President Biden opposes “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state, after moves by Ireland, Spain and Norway.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr McGinty said he would prefer to see a blank wall rather that the mural.

He said the mural, which is in Market Square in the town, has been graffitied, which causes extra work for Mayo County Council.

He said there is support for the mural’s removal.

“I’ve started a petition and it already has 1,200 signatures.

“Ballina would have a population of approximately 10,000 people and we have over 1,200 signatures”, he said.

Speaking on the same programme, Fine Gael councillor Jarlath Munnelly said he is aware of the calls for the mural’s removal, but said it was put there by a community group and not put up as a political statement.

It represents the link between Ireland and its diaspora, Mr Munnelly said.

“He’s the current president of the US, but I suppose more importantly, is somebody who represents the Irish diaspora, the Irish immigrant communities in the US”.

Mr Munnelly said that there is a strong opinion locally about the war in Gaza and he respects this.

It is not my role to tell people if the mural should be taken down, he said, and I think it should be decided by the people who put it up.

President Biden’s great-great-great grandfather Edward Blewitt left Ballina for Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the 1850s.

In a visit to the town last year, he said it “feels like coming home” and that “everything between Ireland and America runs deep”.