Letter from Thomas J. Horan to Maurice Moynihan (Dublin)
(332/5/1)

In reply to your minute (S15291) of the 30th March,¹ regarding a presentation of shamrock which was made by the Ambassador in Washington to the President of the United States on St. Patrick’s Day, I am directed by the Minister for External Affairs to state that during the past few years it has been customary to present boxes of shamrock to the Cabinet, Senators and Congressmen in the United States. In 1952, a presentation of shamrock was made by the Ambassador in Washington to President Truman.

This year the presentation was somewhat more elaborate, as the shamrock was presented in a cut-glass bowl supplied free of charge by Waterford Glass Ltd. The Ambassador, however, was not instructed to make the presentation on behalf of the President, nor did he, in fact, when presenting the shamrock to President Eisenhower, present it on behalf of the President. It is clear, however, that the President of the United States himself assumed that the presentation was made to him on behalf of the President; hence the letter of acknowledgment which he addressed to the President on the 17th March and the press and radio reports to which the Secretary to the President refers in his minute P.4740 of the 26th March.²