News


Home Page > News > President Obama celebrates St Patrick’s Day with another pint of Guinness - VIDEO

President Obama celebrates St Patrick’s Day with another pint of Guinness - VIDEO

Irish cousin Henry Healey and publican Ollie Hayes joins him at The Dubliner pub

By
PATRICK COUNIHAN,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Sunday, March 18, 2012, 7:36 AM
Updated Monday, March 19, 2012, 10:00 AM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article 41 Comments
 

President Obama stopped in at The Dubliner pub in Washington, D.C. for a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day 2012.
President Obama stopped in at The Dubliner pub in Washington, D.C. for a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day 2012.


Guinness PubFinder Ad

President Barack Obama played the Guinness card again on St Patrick’s Day as he joined his Irish cousins for a pint of the black stuff in a Washington bar.

Revelers at The Dubliner pub, near the city’s iconic Union Station, were flabbergasted when the President’s motorcade drew up and he alighted with his Irish guests from his ancestral homeland of Moneygall.

Downing a pint of Guinness to chants of ‘Four More Years,' President Obama was more than happy to be Irish for the day ahead of Tuesday’s official state reception for Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

He was accompanied by publican Ollie Hayes, owner of the bar that hosted the US leader last summer, for another pint of plain, and cousin Henry Healy, from the small village of Moneygall in Tipperary that was home to his ancestors.

Some Dubliner regulars had queued from 10 am for his lunchtime arrival and cheered as he got out of his car wearing a moss green jacket and a pin badge that read VIP Guest.

Shaking hands as he made his entrance, President Obama passed the sign with the pub’s motto - “He who drinks and knows his pace is always welcome in this place. But he who drinks more than his share is never welcome anywhere.”

It’s unclear as to whether or not President Obama paid the $10 cover charge but he did pose for photos with 21-month-old Danny Cooper Coleman.

“Hey, Danny, who’s this?” Obama asked, holding out his VIP GUEST button, which bore the child’s image and the words ‘Tell ‘em Danny sent you.'

Asked how the President enjoyed his Guinness, the baby’s grandfather Danny Coleman said: “He finished it!”

Bartender Brian Keane also confirmed to reporters that he had received just five minutes notice that the President was on his way.

Chicago native Adam Joseph, now resident in DC, said: “I told him ‘Mister President, it’s my birthday!’ And he said ‘Happy birthday.’”

As he left the pub, President Obama had a message for the Irish revelers in for the day.  “I expect you guys,” he said, “to behave yourselves.”

​
Nster.com
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


41 Comments

15 - 41 | See all comments

hjfarmer | Mar 20, 2012, 02:52 PM EDT
McNamara - you are partly correct. The collapse was from deregulation, but that deregulation was done in the Clinton administration and propelled by Sen Dodd and Rep Frank who said as late as 2008 that Freddie and Fannie (whom he oversaw) were sound. Job growth; it depends on how you want to look at it. There are 1% more working right now than at the end of February, 2009 (one month into Obama). That is the good news. However, the longterm unemployed, not counted in the workforce has increased 8%. Yes, we are out of Iraq, but that was done on the timetable the Bush Administration and Iraq had in place. A few more facts-- the deficit during Bush's last full year in office was $600 billion. Bush was in office for four months for fye 9/30/09 when the deficit was $1.4 trillion due to TARP and the stimulus. Since then non-TARP and non-stimulus years have had defits of $1.3 trillion per year and project to be $1.5 trillion as far as anyone can see. The democratic senate will not take up Obama's budgets because if they support Obama on his ridiculous budgets they know they will be voted out of town. One more fact is that Obamacare was supposed to help the deficit with a promised cost of less than $1 trillion. CBO, after finally seeing everything in the bill now says the cost will be $1.74 trillion. The February deficit alone was $231 billion. Just the facts.

Report abuse

seansarto | Mar 19, 2012, 10:16 PM EDT
@McNamara31....I don't know of any major news network (NBC/CBS/ABC/CNN..etc) thats isn't completely obnoxious and self serving at this point..Even NPR is more gaga than guidance...The new media is nothing more than papparrazi with political agendas...A complete failure...."As long as it sells" is it's only concession towards accountability.

Report abuse

Murph46 | Mar 19, 2012, 09:25 PM EDT
Mac I don't go to Fox How about Google-I told you that his quaffing down a pint in Moneygall is pure PR ,I then further stated that I saw none of that when he wasn't courting votes.Now let's reverse it a bit 17 Irish dignitaries are in this country courting money-Todays Google news calls it PR.Now you tell me the difference,If you believe that it was honest family visiting,I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn!

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Mar 19, 2012, 08:40 PM EDT
seansarto...."It beguiles" you? Really? What other outlet is owned by Rupert Murdoch and run by ex “Nixon” man Roger Ailes and has the likes of Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck before he left Fox? When Bill O was interviewed on the morning show (in Ireland) they basically told him what FOX does in the states (smear, distortion) would not be permitted by the Broadcast Commission in Ireland.

Report abuse

seanomelb | Mar 19, 2012, 07:23 PM EDT
seansarto my post was directed to the anti Obama right wing posters,whom I referred as teahadist.I don't know if you fit this picture (or not). Obama's "Irishness" (or lack thereof) is not a criterion for teahadist status.

Report abuse

seansarto | Mar 19, 2012, 07:01 PM EDT
ciaradexy - Agreed...but I was raised in a pretty much an American Irish community...Both my grandmothers were Irish (my grandfather's Italian) and I was pretty well versed in the Irish vernacular and heritage...All my friends were Kelly’s, Monroes, Smiths..etc…Yeah,and yes, I sat around reading Yeats, Behan, Heany..etc...even took some Gaelic classes...Irish Fairs were common to me...Bill Kennedy was up the road, and Frank McCourt was in arm's reach...The only tavern in town was Irish...Maloneys...an' there the pipes would play...So I had more than just a political understanding or appreciation of Irish culture...It wasn't a media confection fro me...It was living and breathing....(It beguiles me how someone like McNamara can repudiate the veracity of one media outlet over another these days when all media venues are so credibly crass and dedicated to nothing more than populism these days in order to nurture their markets...THEY ARE ALL MISLEADING and CRAP! It has become quite a cynical lie that suits an ends justifies the means crowd.) Also, just for the record, I was all over Ireland for the week...Not just the Republic...I drove the entire coast making a film about "the troubles" that pondering American parallels... The film itself was an honest regards to fufll a promise I had made to my Irish hosts in the North back in 1989..I had told them if I was given the chance I intended to make a film....and I did, so I was glad to have done at least that...It really was most important to me to keep my promise to them.

Report abuse

seansarto | Mar 19, 2012, 06:58 PM EDT
ciradexy - The film itself was an honest regards to fufill a promise I had made to my Irish hosts in the North back in 1989..I had told them if I was given the chance I inteneded to make a film....and I did , so I was glad to have done at least that...It really was most important to me to keep my promise to them.

Report abuse

seansarto | Mar 19, 2012, 06:47 PM EDT
ciaradexy - Agreed...but I was raised in a pretty much an American Irish community..Both my grandmothers were Irish (my grandfather's Italian) and I was pretty well versed in the Irish vernacular and heritage...Yeah, I sat around reading Yeats, and Behan and Heany...even took some Gaelic classes...Irish Fairs were common to me...Bill Kennedy was up the road, and Frank McCourt was in arm's reach...The only tavern in town was Irish...Maloneys...an' there the pipes would play...So I had more than just a political understanding or appreciation of Irish culture...It wasn't a media confection fro me...It was living and breathing....(It beguiles me how someone like McNamara can repudiate the veracity of one media outlet over another these days when all media venues are so credibly crass and dedicated to nothing more than populism these days in order to nurture their markets...THEY ARE ALL MISLEADING and CRAP! It has become quite a cynical lie that suits a ends justifies the means crowd.) Also, just for the record, I was all over Ireland for the week..Not just the Republic...I drove the entire coast making a film about "the troubles" that pondering American parallels...

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Mar 19, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT
Remember, this thread started with my response to Murph 46 Stating (about Obama)”F...K him and the horse he road in on.” What “he” actually road in on, was the democratic process. Now, if you defend that, you’re made of totally different stuff than me. Some have made their repeated FOX claims about Obama and my point is, if you go to FOX for your source of information “you choose” to be “uninformed” and even worse completely “mislead.” Hjfarmer, the economic collapse was created by the deregulation from the prior administration. That’s not opinion; that’s fact. However this administration has had continued job growth, ended the war in Iran, eliminated Bin Laden, returned stock market to pre 2008 highs but much more has to be done. Since Obama was elected much of the criticism and the smear “that he’s not one of us” has come directly from Fox News and the people who watch Fox and listen to conservative radio because they know on both they will have their bias reinforced.So, hjfarmer its not a blame game its plain facts.

Report abuse

RinehartS | Mar 19, 2012, 01:19 PM EDT
Doesn't Obama know that St. Patrick's Day and being in Ireland is not about drinking!! How dare he!!

Report abuse

ciaradexy | Mar 19, 2012, 08:45 AM EDT
Seansarto, you were in the Republic of Ireland for a week and Northern Ireland for 3 months? That doesnt make you Irish either! You were raised in the US in American culture. Neither you nor Obama are Irish, youre just both distantly related to someone who is.

Report abuse

irishmathair | Mar 19, 2012, 12:16 AM EDT
DEFINITELY AMEN hifarmer!!

Report abuse

Murph46 | Mar 18, 2012, 11:54 PM EDT
Amen hjfarmer!

Report abuse

hjfarmer | Mar 18, 2012, 11:44 PM EDT
McNamara - poor Obama didn't know what he was getting into all the time he was putting down Bush in 2008. Since inauguration he even still, over three years later blames everything that is wrong on Bush, instead of fixing anything; then takes credit for getting OBL using Bush's intelligence sources which he denounced. Coaches don't put down their losing predessors; CEO's three years later don't blame their predessors for what is wrong with the company. But Obama and the dems do. Leaders lead, losers blame

Report abuse

McNamara31 | Mar 18, 2012, 11:02 PM EDT
irishmathair Yep. They’re right up there no. 1 in smearing and distorting the facts. You’re right …No one does it better than Roger Ailes and the sewer that is FOX News.

Report abuse



Feedbox
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail