Thousands of well-wishers who waited in pounding rain and hail for as long as three hours, shouts of "Welcome home, Mr. President!" and a pint of Guinness greeted President Obama in his ancestral home of Moneygall this afternoon.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama set down in the tiny hamlet (pop. 296) in County Offaly to greet residents of the town where Obama's great-great-great grandfather was born.

"I"m so nervous I can't talk," said John Donovan, a shopkeeper, funeral director and farmer who owns Obama's ancestral home (scroll down to the bottom to see Obama's family tree). "We have the place spic-and-span" for the president's visit.

Asked if he would serve tea, Donovan told reporters traveling with Obama, "I think he's more interested in a pint."

Obama arrived to a mix of rain and sun. When the skies opened up, he ducked into Donovan's home. A short time later, he emerged to continue shaking hands and posing for pictures with the crowd. Bundled up in rain jackets and hats, residents stood cheering -- some with small children on their shoulders -- beneath flapping Irish and American flags along the main drag of the village.

Richard Wallace, 49, a farmer, said the visit would help town's economy by pumping in tourist dollars. "That's what it's all about," he said. His wife, Susan, joked, "Maybe we'll change the town to 'Moneyall.'"

In Ollie Hayes' pub, which has low ceilings and is decked out with plush maroon-colored seats, Obama and the first lady shook hands and joked with patrons. "You look a little like my grandfather," Obama said to one man.

On one wall hung a framed T-shirt with the word "O'Bama's Irish Pub;" on another, 2008 Obama campaign posters, including one featuring Vice President Biden.

"What a thrill it is to be here," Obama said. "There are millions of Irish Americans who trace their ancestry back to this beautiful island. Part of why this makes it so special is because the Irish influence on American culture is so powerful in the arts, in poitics, in commerce." "

After posing for a series of "family photos," Obama turned to the bartender who had poured him a pint of Guinness.

"You tell me when it's properly settled, I don't want to mess this up," Obama said. After he took a big gulp and the crowd cheered, he slapped some cash down on the bar. "I just want you to know, the president pays."

Obama told the bartender that he first had a Guinness during a stopover at Shannon Airport on his way to Afghanistan. "It was the middle of the night, and I tried one of these and I realized it tastes so much better here than in the United States," he said. "You're keeping all the best stuff here."