Irish girls pose for a photograph, two with the name “Obama” and one with a U.S. flag, painted on their faces amongst people queuing up to join the crowd to listen to U.S. President Barack Obama make an address at College Green in Dublin, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A newspaper vendor holds up a stack of papers with the front page headline “Welcome Home” in reference to U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A painting of President Barack Obama stands next to a replica pint of Guinness in a shop in Moneygall, Ireland, Saturday, May 21, 2011.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama enjoy a glass of Guinness in his ancestral home of Moneygall, on May 23, 2001 in Moneygall, Ireland.
(Photo by Irish Government – Pool /Getty Images)
President Barack Obama drinks Guinness beer as he meets with local residents at Ollie Hayes pub in Moneygall, Ireland, the ancestral homeland of his great-great-great grandfather, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Youths wear Stars and Stripes as they wait for US President Obama on May 23, 2001 in Dublin, Ireland.
(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama meet local residents in Moneygall, Ireland, the ancestral homeland of his great-great-great grandfather, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo, Pool)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama meet local residents in Moneygall, Ireland, the ancestral homeland of his great-great-great grandfather, Monday, May 23, 2011
(AP Photo/Pool)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attend a rally on College Green on May 23, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland. US President Obama is visiting Ireland for one day. Earlier he met with Irish President Mary McAleese, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Enda Kenny and visited his ancestral home in Moneygall, County Offaly.
(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stand with Ireland’s President Mary McAleese and husband Martin McAleese as they meet Irish school children at the Peace Bell during a tree planting ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Michelle Obama, right, gestures beside Fionnuala Kenny, center, wife of Irish Prime Minister and Taoiseach Enda Kenny as they viewed an embroidered panel depicting the Norman Invasion during a tour of Farmeligh House in Dublin Monday May 23, 2011 as US President Barack Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny held talks.
(AP Photo, Pool)
President Barack Obama, left, reacts after he was presented with a hurley stick from Irish Prime Minister and Taoiseach Enda Kenny while in Farmleigh, Dublin Monday May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo, Pool)
President Barack Obama meets with Taoiseach Enda Kenny at Farmleigh, where the two held talks, on May 23, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland.
(Photo by Irish Government – Pool /Getty Images)
President Barack Obama speaks at College Green in Dublin, Ireland, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Obama embraces an audience member after speaking at College Green in Dublin, Ireland, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama take the stage before President Obama speaks at College Green in Dublin, Ireland, Monday, May 23, 2011.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
DUBLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama says the enduring, centuries-old relationship the U.S. and Ireland enjoy is bound by history, friendship and shared values.
He says Ireland is the first stop on his visit to Europe because he wants to reaffirm those “bonds of affection.”
Obama addressed tens of thousands of people packed into College Green on Monday for an open-air event billed as a celebration of Irish culture. He spoke after paying a visit to his ancestral home of Moneygall and downing a pint of Guinness stout. His maternal great-great-great grandfather lived and worked in Moneygall before leaving Ireland for the U.S.
Obama is on a six-day, four-country tour of Europe that started Monday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
