Presentation of the traditonal “Shamrock Bowl'”  President Obama – 2010

Since the Eisenhower Administration – the St. Patrick’s Day presentation of shamrocks to the President of the United States has become an important tradition. In 1952 what was then a  ceremonial  “box of shamrocks” became a custom-made Waterford crystal vase – now a Waterford  bowl of shamrocks. The new Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will himself be presenting the “Shamrock Bowl” to President Obama this year. While in the United States  – Kenny will greeted by the President at the White House, entertained by Vice-President Biden at his Naval Observatory home and honored as a special guest at the iconic New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The Irish PM will also give a speech at an American Ireland Fund gala honoring Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. But Kenny is on a mission beyond the social and the ceremonial.

From today’s HuffingtonPost.com:

DUBLIN — The newly elected leaders of debt-crippled Ireland arrived Wednesday in the United States on an annual mission to capitalize on St. Patrick’s Day.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny – who rose to power on a promise to renegotiate terms of Ireland’s EU-IMF bailout – said his top priority is to reassure American leaders that Ireland remains a good base for U.S. companies, despite the country’s desperate finances and European pressure to raise its business taxes.

Read the full article here at HuffingtonPost.com.