Cowen gets White House invitation

BARACK OBAMA last night remembered to invite Taoiseach Brian Cowen to the White House this St Patrick’s Day, hours after the American president unveiled a stunning $1.7 trillion (e1.4tn) budget deficit.

The invite means the two sons of Offaly will sit down together for the first time on March 17 when they will discuss their joint economic strife.

It came after weeks of speculation on whether the new president would continue the traditional presentation of shamrock, which began under president Ronald Reagan. Mr Cowen said he was “delighted” to accept the White House’s offer.

“The celebration of our national day in the White House is a great tradition which reflects the enduring friendship between Ireland and the United States.

“I look forward to presenting the president with the bowl of shamrock as a symbol of the warmth and strength of our relationship,” he said.

Mr Cowen also said the global economic crisis will dominate their meeting.

“This year, of course, our bilateral discussions will have a particular focus on the severe economic problems which are besetting all economies and on how we can work together internationally to tackle these unprecedented challenges,” he said.

The Taoiseach had already planned the rest of his itinerary around March 17. It will include the annual lunch on Capitol Hill and a dinner the previous evening hosted by the Irish-American Fund.

Mr Obama made little attempt to court the politically diverse Irish-American electorate during his campaign.

However, in November he included the Taoiseach in his first dozen phone calls to world leaders in a 15-minute talk a fortnight after his election.

But recently it was feared he would end the shamrock ceremony or move it to another day.

The alternative was to relocate it to the country’s foreign affairs office, the State Department, and have the Taoiseach meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Vice-President Joe Biden, a proud Irish-American.