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THE MOST FAMOUS publican in the village of Moneygall has been invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the first family of the United States of America.
Ollie Hayes received the official invite from the White House in the post last week. His nephew – and Barack Obama’s distant cousin – Henry Healy was also honoured with an invitation.
Both men were surprised to receive a plus one on the invites.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Hayes said that the obvious choice would be to bring his wife but she was too busy looking after the pub and their four-year-old daughter.
“My wife Majella said nothing would beat the experience of having 15 minutes of private time with the President and the First Lady last year right here in Moneygall,” he said. “So she is happy to hold the fort while I go.”
Hayes’s sister Helen is stepping up and attending the event with her brother instead. Healy has asked his mother Marion – who is Helen and Ollie’s sister – to accompany him.
The event in Washington DC, during which a bowl of shamrock is traditionally handed over to the US President, is actually to take place on 20 March and not on St Patrick’s Day itself on 17 March.
The Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his wife will also participate in the ceremony.
Hayes and Healy were nominated by the American ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney to receive the honour. They had both heard “remarks being passed” before and were told to make themselves available for the 20 March.
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Some of the Black Friday videos I’ve seen online are beyond shocking! Grown men and women knocking kids and each other over to get a tv. I saw one where a woman was elbowed in the face and the tv grabbed from her.
Do you really need the tv that badly?! Crazy.
Big shops full of empty people.
I hope the Gardai aren’t making call-outs to those fisticuffs a priority! Let the stores hire their own security.
Oh, thank you Corporate God for allowing globalism to spread American cultural to every corner of the planet. What would I do without a McDonalds in the far reaches to clog my arteries and make me comfortable as a homogeneous global citizen. I am spared from local flavor and quite content in my profligate materialism. Amen
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