Irish rugby legend Rob Kearney says he has no intention of following famous cousin Joe Biden into politics.
The former Leinster and Ireland star reckons life as a politician is tougher than facing the All Blacks.
Kearney, who retired from rugby 18 months ago after making 95 appearances for Ireland, met once again with the US president during Biden’s recent visit to his ancestral home in County Louth.
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These days he mixes a part-time role with an investment firm with sponsorship duties and television work.
Asked if he would consider a move into politics, he told the Irish Daily Star: “No. I don’t think so. I think politics is one of the most thankless jobs that you could do.”
Tougher than facing the All Blacks?
“100 percent,” said Kearney.
The 37-year-old paid tribute to his cousin and revealed how then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s Covid misfortune last year in Washington gave him a chance to visit the White House.
Martin was in the USA for St Patrick’s Day when he was struck down by the coronavirus, which meant he had to cancel his meeting with Biden.
So the US commander in chief reached out to Kearney.
“He is an unbelievably kind and empathetic person,” said the rugby ace.
“Myself, my mum and dad went over on St Patrick’s Day last year, Micheál Martin got covid, so he (Biden) had three hours free in the diary.
“He met us at the front door of the White House, gave us a tour for an hour-and-a-half and then it was back to the Oval Office for an hour-and-a-half.
“He just wanted to talk about Ireland. He was very engaging. I would think that he is a special man.”
The link between Biden and Kearney was uncovered in 2016, ahead of Biden’s visit to Ireland as vice president to Barack Obama.
Kearney’s dad David and Biden are fifth cousins
“The relationship started in 2016 when he came over as vice-president,” Kearney explained.
“Enda Kenny called me to say that they’d gone back through his family tree and they found a connection to my family.
“So I met him on that trip in 2016 and bizarrely formed a good relationship with him and his family.
“I’ve been over to the White House three times now. I got to spend a few days with him when he was in Ireland last month, so it was a bizarre set of circumstances.
“I am firmly and unapologetically on the bandwagon, but it’s cool.”
# AUDI IRELAND brand ambassador Rob Kearney sat down with host Sonya Lennon for series two of Driving Progress, a podcast series by Audi.
The episode is currently available to listen to across all podcast streaming platforms including; Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music - and here.
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