Sunday Morning and Main Street in Ballyporeen is quiet though not deserted, reports Barry Roche, Southern Correspondent in Ballyporeen
A lone Tipp hurling fan wearing his colours is waiting for a lift to Cork for the county's hurling clash with Waterford. A van with a pyramid of posters perched on its roof urges the electorate to vote for a local councillor.
It could be any summer Sunday morning in Ballyporeen except that it's the day the town woke up to discover that Ronald Reagan has died - almost 20 years to the day, if not the date, he visited the home village of his great-grandfather, Michael Regan, who was baptised there in 1829.
Only the Ronald Reagan Bar, up for sale, and the Ronald Reagan Centre, home to the tourist office, bear obvious testimony to his visit. However, memories of June 3rd, 1984, are firmly fixed in the minds of locals grateful to the ex-movie star who put the Tipperary hamlet, squeezed between the Knockmealdowns and the Galtees, on the world stage.
Ms Mary O'Farrell and her husband John, who renamed their pub the Ronald Reagan Bar when they learned of President Reagan's link to Ballyporeen, first heard the news of his death from a television newsflash sometime after 10 p.m. on Saturday. It brought memories of his visit flooding back.
"We learned about it when the newsflash came on Sky," said Mrs O'Farrell. "It's sad but at the same time, it's a release because with Alzheimer's there was going to be no comeback. We got a letter from him 10 years ago telling us that he was starting to go downhill with Alzheimer's. It's been a long haul and it must have taken its toll on Nancy as well."
She said that shortly after President Reagan was elected in 1980, they learned that he had a link with Ballyporeen. Within two weeks, they had changed the name of the bar, the new sign had gone up and within a couple of months, they had written to the White House inviting him to visit. Three years later, their invitation was taken up.
Former chairman of Tipperary South County Council, Mr Con Donovan, was the first person to formally welcome President Reagan when his helicopter landed in the local GAA grounds before the president and his wife, Nancy, visited the local parish priest, the late Father John Murphy, to inspect the baptismal record showing his great-grandfather's name.
Mr Donovan said: "I suppose my strongest memory is his humour and friendliness on the day, and I remember him on the podium throwing out his arm and saying, 'There is no place on this planet I would rather be than here in Ballyporeen'. It meant a lot to him to come here and see where his ancestors came from. It was very emotional for him."