Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

At one point last week the RTÉ News website led with the following four so-called news stories: "High hopes for Biden selfie in front of Ballina mural"; "'Part of his soul' and DNA: How Irish is Joe Biden?"; "He comes as a pilgrim': Knock prepares Biden welcome"; and last but not least, "New business hopes Biden calls in for 'a cup of Joe'". The man variously described in the Irish corporate media as the leader of the free world and as a man of peace was rarely, if ever, described as a supporter of a large number of the world's dictatorships or as the commander-in-chief of the largest, most expensive and most deadly military machine ever known to man - both of which, of course, he is. Is the Taoiseach in any sense embarrassed by the over-the-top fawning of the Irish media and political establishment last week?

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