Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Obama Spending St. Patrick's Day with Irish Leaders

   VOA News 17 March 2010
   Irish  Prime  Minister  Brian Cowen, President Barack Obama, and first
   lady  Michelle  Obama  are  pictured  on stage in the East Room of the
   White  House  in  Washington, during a St. Patrick's Day reception, 17
   Mar 2009

Photo: AP

   Irish  Prime  Minister  Brian Cowen, President Barack Obama, and first
   lady  Michelle  Obama  are  pictured  on stage in the East Room of the
   White  House  in  Washington, during a St. Patrick's Day reception, 17
   Mar 2009

   U.S.  President Barack Obama met with visiting Irish political leaders
   as part of traditional events marking St. Patrick's Day.
   The  president  hosted  Irish  Prime Minister Brian Cowen at the White
   House on Wednesday.
   Mr. Obama is also meeting with Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter
   Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness.
   Earlier this month, Northern Ireland's legislature approved a landmark
   deal  transferring  police  and  criminal  powers  from  London to the
   Catholic-Protestant government in Belfast.
   U.S.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote an "important
   step  in ensuring a peaceful and prosperous future" for all the people
   of Northern Ireland.
   St. Patrick's Day is a holiday that honors Ireland's patron saint.
   Tens  of  millions  of  Americans  have  Irish ancestors, many of whom
   traveled to the U.S. in the 1840s to escape Ireland's great famine.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

.