SNIPPET; Coming from a country where millions boast of Irish roots to one where few families are without Ameroican cousins, President REAGAN's visit in 1984 celebrated the historic ties between Ireland and the United States of America. Back in the early 1800's a young man from the Ballyporeen area of Tipperary, Thomas REGAN, married Margaret MURPHY and beteen 1816 and 1829 they produced six children. The youngest called Michael, was baptised in the Church of the Assumption, Ballyporeen in 1829, and in the late 1840's (at the height of the potato famine) he emigrated to England. There his name was changed to REAGAN and he married a Tipperary girl and in 1858 moved to America with his family. Their second son John married Jenny CUSACK, and they had three children. John Edward, their youngest son, settled in IL, became a shoe salesman and married Nellie WILSON. Their youngest son, born in 1911, was named Ronald, who was to become President of the United States. Per the Sept-Oct 1984 issue of Dublin-published "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, the summer 1984 itinerary of the President and First Lady included the following: Friday, 1st June: The President and Mrs. REAGAN arrived at Shannon Airport in the warm sun of a summer evening. They were greeted on arrival by Ireland's President, Dr. P. J. HILLERY and his wife Maeve, An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Dr. Garret FITZGERALD and his wife Joan. An Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Dick SPRING and his wife Kristi, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Peter BARRY, accompanied by his wife Margaret. President REAGAN inspected a Guard of Honour to the sounds of the Irish and American National Anthems and thanked those present for their 'warm and wonderful Irish welcome' to this 'isle of wondrous beauty, with a countryside green as no other place seems to be.' He went on to announce proudly that 'to be able to stand on the soil of my ancestors among all of you , is, for me a very special gift, a moment of joy. And I am returning not only to my own roots, I am returning to America's roots. So much of what America means and stands for we owe to y! ou - to your indomitable spirit and generosity, and to your impassioned love for liberty and independence.' President REAGAN spent a quiet evening with Nancy at Ashford Castle Hotel. They enjoyed a leisurely stroll in the spacious grounds. The Castle was built by the GUINNESS family over a century ago, in the Gothic manorial style and is presently owned (1984) by Irish-American John A. MULCAHY. This was not their very first evening in Ireland, however - they came here in 1972 when the President was Governor of CA. Saturday, 2nd June: The main event next day was a visit to the historic city of Galway. This year, Galway celebrated the 500th anniversary of receiving its royal charter. The centrepiece of the visit was the conferring of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law upon the President. The ceremony took place in the quadrangle of University College, Galway - an early Victorian structure built only a few years before the President's ancestors left Ireland. In splendid brocaded robes, the Chancellor of the National University of Ireland, Dr. T. K. WHITTAKER, presented the degree scroll to a smiling recipient of the academic honour. As part of the same ceremony, President REAGAN followed in the footsteps of his great predecessor, John F. KENNEDY, in being presented with the Freedom of the City by Dr. Michael LEAHY, the Mayor of Galway. Sunday, 3rd June: The President of the United States paid a visit to the village of Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary, the homeland of his ancestors. He was visibly moved as he stepped from the helicopter and had his firet look at the town in which his great-grandfather was born. He walked up to the Parochial House, where Father John MURPHY showed him the register in which the baptism of his great-grandfather Michael in 1829, is recorded. The curate, Rev. Eanna CONDON, took the President and Mrs. REAGAN through the village to the church, where they assisted at a short and beautiful ceremony. As they emerged from the Church, the somewhat formal air which the proceedings had taken up to this point, radically altered. The people wanted to greet Mr. REAGAN on his 'homecoming' and with scant regard for security requirements, they pressed forward to shake the presidential hand. The sun shone, and the village street suddenly took on a festive air, in which the REAGANs revelled. T! he throngs which gathered to express their delight at the leader of the world's greatest democracy coming to their village, were greeted with handshakes and friendly words as the President made his way towards the unveiling of a plaque which is to form the cornerstone of the planned Ronald Reagan Visitor Centre - which is being provided by Bord Failte - the Irish Tourist Board. To greet the President at the site were the Irish Tourist Board's chairman P. V. DOYLE and Mrs. Margaret DOYLE, its Director-general Michael MacNULTY and his wife Phyllis, and Board members Mrs. Mary BENNETT, Joe MALONE, Tony BRAZIL and Ernie EVANS. After a drink in the local bar, which had been re-named in his honour, the President and Mrs. REAGAN were entertained to a display of traditional music, song and dance by members of Comhaltas Ceolteoiri Eireann. Presentations were made by the local people and the County Council. Mr. REGAN then took the rostrum and delighted everybody by declaring that ! there was no place on the planet which he would rather claim as his roots then Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary. The party then travelled to Dublin, Ireland's capital city. Dublin, a Georgian city, achieved its greatest architectural expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it blossomed into an elegant, commercial and social centre. The REAGANs were guests of honour at a State Banquet hosted by An Taoiseach. It was held in one of the city's finest buildings - St. Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle. Earlier, during his call on the President of Ireland, Dr. P. J. HILLERY and Mrs. HILLERY, President REAGAN planted a magnolia tree in the ground of Aras an Uachtarain - Ireland's presidential residence. There was a very special moment for Mrs. REAGAN when she visited the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, which celebrated its bicentenary this year. Her late stepfather, Dr. Loyal DAVIS, was granted an Honorary Fellowship by the college in 1982, and Mrs. REAGAN unveiled a port! rait of Dr. DAVIS during her visit. Monday, 4th June: On the morning of his departure, in a speech which included important statements on American foreign policy, Mr. REAGAN became only the second person in the history of Ireland to address a joint session of the houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) - President KENNEDY was the other. After a final lunch in the American Ambassador's residence in the Phoenix Park, the Presidential party took off from Dublin Airport, being wished bon voyage by the Irish President and Prime Minister and, in spirit, by all those whom President and Mrs. REAGAN had charmed during their brief stay in the land of his ancestors.