Ballina, Ireland - President Joe Biden's historic tour of Ireland ended with an emotional day, during which he spoke of his "fierce pride in our Irish ancestry."

Biden made a passionate public speech in Ballina, County Mayo, on Friday evening in front of a crowd of thousands – where he described the relationship between the US and Ireland as "united by history, heritage and hope".

The president said his trip to the town "feels like coming home" and told spectators millions of Americans claim to have Irish heritage – adding: "More would if they could."

After landing at Ireland West Airport in the afternoon, the president broke down during a visit to Knock shrine following a chance meeting with Father Frank O'Grady, who gave the last rites to his son Beau Biden before he died of brain cancer in 2015.

Donald Trump Trump allowed to attend son Barron's high school graduation by hush money trial judge

His emotion-filled final day also saw Biden visit the Mayo Roscommon Hospice, where there is a plaque in memory of his late son.

Father O'Grady received a call requesting that he meet the president, and later told Irish public broadcaster RTE that the encounter was "like a reunion."

"We had a nice chat for about 10 minutes. He was delighted to see me and I was delighted to see him," he said.

"He gave me a big hug, it was like a reunion. He told me he appreciated everything that was done."

He added: "I hadn’t seen him really in eight years since Beau died. His son Hunter was there too, so we had a real reunion."

"He certainly misses his son. He has been grieving a lot but I think the grief is kind of going down a bit. We talked a little bit about how grief can take several years."