Shamrocks and the White House

President Barack Obama meets with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March, 17, 2011. It is a tradition in Washington that the president meets with Irish leaders on St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day 2010 at the White House

obama--sja,.jpg — AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Barack Obama waves to reporters at the end of his meeting with Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday, March 17, 2010.

St. Patrick's Day 2009 at the White House

President Barack Obama holds a bowl of shamrocks given to him by Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, Tuesday, March 17, 2009, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington.

St. Patrick's Day 2007 at the White House

President George W. Bush accepts a ceremonial bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern during a St. Patrick's Day ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 16, 2007. Bush hostred Ahern at the White House that year on March 16 for a St. Patrick's Day commemoration.

St. Patrick's Day 2006 at the White House

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, right, presents President George W. Bush with a bowl of shamrocks, the three-leaf plant people around the world associate with Ireland, St. Patrick's Day and good luck, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Friday, March 17, 2006, in Washington.

St. Patrick's Day 1996 at the White House

Irish Prime Minister John Bruton, left, presents a bowl of shamrocks to President Clinton at the White House Friday, March 15, 1996. The presentation is a St. Patrick's Day tradition.

St. Patrick's Day 1991 at the White House

Irish Foreign Minister Gerard Collins, second from left, presents a bowl of shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day to President George H.W. Bush at the White House, Wednesday, March 13,1991, in Washington.

St. Patrick's Day 1994 at the White House

President Ronald Reagan accepts a bouquet of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald during a luncheon at the White House, Friday, March 16, 1984, in Washington. Their meeting centered on things Irish, with Reagan looking back to his ancestry and planning a visit.

St.Patrick's Day 1969 at the White House

Irish Ambassador William Patrick Fay pins a cluster of shamrocks on President Nixon's lapel on March 17, 1969, during a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House in Washington. The President is holding a foot-high Waterford crystal vase, bearing a White House etching, which also was presented to the Nixons from their Irish visitors.