Where is obama staying in ireland

For MacCann it was a triumph - the stay was one of the best kept secrets in Ireland. The hotel is already on the map because its many high-profile guests including the head of the International Monetary Fund's Irish mission, Ajai Chopra and its position opposite government buildings which mean photographers are never far away.

That was being erected on Sunday and I was amazed no passers by worked out what was happening, I suppose they must have thought it was a wedding or something," said MacCann. All rooms were taken by the president and his entourage — all of Air Force One's passengers plus 40 more secret service personnel who followed the president to the UK the following day.

It all started the week after St Patrick's Day when the embassy called to discuss the possibility of the stay.

Various layers of security arrived over the months and weeks to assess the hotel. All the functions of the White House travel with the President with special communication facilities, catering supervisers, medical staff and even a replica of the Washington press room, erected in one of the suites in case Obama had to address the American people in the event of an emergency.

If you saw it you would not have known it was Dublin. If you live in a city or a good-sized town, or really any place that people visit of their own volition, you must strain, much as Moneygallers strained, to comprehend the effects of what happened next to their generally overlooked village. Every pothole was repaired, planters were hung in windows, and a ticket system was devised to accommodate all those who wished to join the reception on Main Street.

He was a wreck. The son of a farmer, he worked in accounts at a local plumbing company. The Obamas' first stop was to a low, drab-looking house toward the south end of Main Street.

It was the ancestral home—the place that Falmouth had left, a century and a half earlier, for America. But he wanted to check it out. Healy and Hayes were with him, and reported later that he seemed genuinely moved there in the living room. Then they went to the pub. Healy is seen seldom more than a foot or two from the first family, and not looking remotely nervous.

By all accounts, the atmosphere verged on euphoric. The quote, sounding like a broader endorsement, was later memorialized on a sign outside the pub. The Obamas left the pub to find all of Moneygall waiting outside, along with a few thousand visitors. The plan was for the first family to say a few hellos and then get in a limo. But, as locals tell it now, something came over them, and they walked the entire length of the village, shaking every hand. And then they left. The Obamas left, the Secret Service left, the media left.

Everybody left except the Moneygallers themselves. In the northeast, you quickly find yourself in Irish countryside: ash trees, low stone walls, thick-walled homes hunkered down against the chill. On a recent morning, the local radio station aired a segment on the proper installation of flue liners.

But zip out of Moneygall from the southwest and you arrive at the gleaming, glassy Barack Obama Plaza, rising in thrilling disharmony from the cows and hills and green. The multimillion-dollar complex opened on the outskirts of town three years after the visit. Only technically is the futuristic-looking structure just a rest stop.

Inside, diners can find proper Irish meals, in addition to fast food, and a spacious dining room with actual silverware. Down the hall, an extensive visitors center showcases all things Obama-plus-Moneygall.

And, of course, they can pop into Ollie Hayes Bar, itself a mini museum of Obama photos, memorabilia, and another bust of the President. The sign out front has been modified to incorporate a blown-up photo of Obama drinking Guinness. David Cameron said today that he is "as worried as anyone" about terrorist and extremist elements among opposition forces fighting to oust Bashar Assad in Syria.

Failte First Family: the Obamas touch down in Ireland. Facebook Twitter Email. Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp. Daily Digest Newsletter Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7. Europe Cameroon: I'm worried about terrorist attack in Britain David Cameron said today that he is "as worried as anyone" about terrorist and extremist elements among opposition forces fighting to oust Bashar Assad in Syria. Dr Mike Ryan: Some European countries will find it hard not to reimpose restrictions amid growing cases.

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