Crystal bowl to Obama puts us 24th on gift ranking list

A gift from Ireland was ranked the 24th best out of the 274 presents given to US president Barack Obama between 2009 and 2012.

The exercise was undertaken by the Washington Post, gauging the gifts by value, and quality. The newspaper figured the best gifts, on average, came from New Zealand, with the worst from Singapore.

Seven times we figured on the Obama gift list, with the best coming in 2012, when we presented to the most powerful man in the world with a crystal bowl centrepiece (probably containing shamrock, and probably promptly incinerated), along with a 27in tall bronze statue of James Hoban (the Kilkenny architect who designed the White House), a certificate of Mr Obama’s Irish heritage, two silver shamrock charm bracelets, a lambswool scarf and a lambswool blanket.