O’Bama toasts BOD after Shamrock treatment

Moneygall may not be known as a rugby stronghold, but Barack Obama proved last night that the Irish everywhere have just one thing on their mind when he hailed the “legendary” Brian O’Driscoll.

Being removed by eight generations didn’t stop him joining in the anticipation for the big game when he told a gathering of the Irish community in the White House: “It’s good to see you as you embark on the final road of the Six Nations.”

He also said it was good to celebrate St Patrick’s Day with the Taoiseach and his family the night before “the last match of the legendary Brian O’Driscoll”.

Raising a toast during the annual presentation of shamrock to the president, he noted that his staff had given him a glass of water. “This isn’t the best night to do water. Clearly they got the wrong day,” he said.

Earlier during the Taoiseach’s annual St Patrick’s Day mission to America, Obama was found singing the ‘Wild Rover’.

It was that strange day that happens once a year, when the US capital grinds to something of a halt as the Irish take advantage of the unrivalled access that St Patrick’s Day affords — not just to key US legislators, but inside the door of the Oval Office.

At lunchtime this tradition threw together an unlikely sing-song involving Mr Obama and a man with whom he shares a much cooler relationship: Republican John Boehner.

Sitting between them was the Taoiseach, who brought his children on the trip. But where usually these events throw up cheesy lines about rounds of golf and long-lost relatives, Mr Kenny used the presence of legislators to press home a serious message on immigration. He went off script to describe the plight of 55,000 undocumented Irish. He said illegal immigrants sing the words of the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ about “the land of the free” — while they are not free in the country they consider home.

The lunch followed a laid back meeting earlier between the Taoiseach and Mr Obama. “This is one of my favourite times of the year because I am able to join with our friends from Ireland to celebrate the incredible bond that exists between our to countries,” the president said.

So does he plan to visit again? “Oh, I’d love to,” he said with a sincere touch of yearning. “Say hi to the folks back in Moneygall.”