Tomb proves Obama is ours
A TOMB which lay undetected for over 100 years in St Canice's Cathedral is that of US President Barack Obama's most famous direct relative. The fascinating discovery by a local historian and film maker looks certain to boost tourism in the city and may herald a visit to Kilkenny by the most famous man in the world.
President Obama's great, great, great, great grand uncle is buried in a vault under St Canice's Cathedral. John Kearney was the Bishop of Ossory at the time of his death in 1813 and also held the position of Provost of Trinity College.
When Mr Gabriel Murray found the tomb in May of this year, he uncovered a sad and tragic story of why the Kilkenny lineage to Mr Obama died out.
John Kearney (1741–1813), (Obama's sixth-generation grand-uncle) is buried beside his son, wife and grandson. His son John Kearney was rector of Castleinch and became Chancellor of St Canice's. He died in 1838 at the age of 68 and his only son James died 14 years later of cholera in 1824, which explains why the Kilkenny line to Mr Obama died out. The little boy was aged five years and five months when the cholera epidemic which swept the country in that year claimed his life as well.
It is the only burial place in Ireland of Mr Obama's direct relatives, which means it is the only place where there is tangible link between Ireland and the most powerful man in the world.
And the Bishop's Palace where John Kearney died is the only standing ancestral home of Barack Obama in Ireland.
The significance of the find has not been lost on the City. The Mayor, Cllr Malcolm Noonan has dispatched an official invitation to the White House in Washington DC. He has invited to Mr Obama to come and see the vault of his long-lost relative for himself. A presidential visit to Ireland is being mooted for 2011 and if he comes to the see the resting place of his most famous ancestors, Mr Obama will be granted the Freedom of the City.
Already, a documentary on the story is nearly completed by Mr Murray, entitled "Obama's Lost Tomb."
"The city owes a huge debt to Mr Murray for unearthing this incredible story. He and Liz Keyes, the administrator at St Canice's Cathedral have done the city a great service," Mayor Noonan said.
The discovery was made "by accident" while Mr Murray was carrying out research in Trinity Library's ancient manuscript department for a documentary that he has scripted, titled "Obama's Irish Roots", and centres in Dublin and Moneygall, Co Offaly.
Mr Murray had been concentrating his efforts on Bishop Kearney's brother Michael, who was a major academic and professor at Trinity, and his lineage has been traced back to Moneygall, Co Offaly, where up to now, most of the publicity surrounding Mr Obama's Irish roots has centred.That looks set to change with the discovery of the tomb.
A small notice has now been placed by the plaque and vault in the cathedral, and American visitor to the cathedral are taken aback by the fact that Obama has such strong inks with Ireland and in particular Kilkenny.
St Canice's Cathedral
According to Elizabeth Keyes, administrator of the cathedral, the discovery raises the cultural heritage profile of the Cathedral. "The memorial and tombstone of the Kearney family highlight the very important fact that by protecting and conserving historical records, graveyards, monuments and buildings can facilitate people to research their ancestral past. Sometimes leading to great historical discoveries," she pointed out.
"It is a significant historical discovery for St Canice's, and the cathedral staff were very impressed with the historical research that Gabriel produced on his first visit to the Cathedral."
Gabriel Murray's upcoming documentary, "Obama's Irish Roots" follows the Kearney family's 5,000-mile route from Kilkenny to Kansas in 1847 during the famine era. The documentary features interviews with Dean Norman Lynas, (Dean of St Canice's Cathedral) Canon Stephen Neill, (Rector Temple Harry Church, Co Offaly); Steve Mac Donagh, (editor, Brandon Books) along with Mr Obama's relatives in Ireland and America. Re-enactments of the life of Obama's great-grandfather and grandmother are played by actors Fergus Kealy and Sharon O'Donnell.
The documentary was filmed at the historical locations where the family lived: St Canice's Cathedral; Busherstown House, Moneygall, Co Offaly; Temple Harry Church, Moneygall, Co Offaly Anglican Church, Shinrone; and Trinity College, Dublin.
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