Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Bowl of Shamrocks - Foreign Policy at its Sexiest


We all know that foreign policies can often seem quite strange and peculiar. Ireland alligns itself with this notion by having a foreign policy that entails our Taoiseach making a visit to the White House and handing the American president a bowl of shamrocks. This tradition that started in the mid-20th century acts not only as a symbolic reminder of the relationship that exists between Ireland and America, but also has apolitical purposes too. These generally revolve around fundraising and general economic development. Obviously much needed in our current economic climate. So from all of us here at MRHP we would like to wish Enda Kenny the best of luck handing over a bowl of Shamrocks to Barrack and at least this time around we will have a more photogenic leader engaging with the tradition. 

This space is reserved for a picture of Enda doing his first Shamrock exchange today.

We have also decided to include a brief pictorial rundown of some of the exchanges that have happened over the years. Most recent of these is the horrifically constrasting photo of sleak handsome Barrack versus Ireland's own wasp chewing bulldog Cowen.


Next up we have the original Laurel and Hardy of world politics, Bush and Bertie.


Before this duo we had Clinton and Bertie taking care of business.


Finally we have the first ever shamrock exchange between Bruton and Clinton, oh the nostalgia.

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