Trump receives his bowl of shamrock from south Kerry
IF you were told US President Donald Trump received a piece of south Kerry sod in the White House on St Patrick’s Day, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just ‘fake news’. Except it’s not. The traditional bowl of shamrock given over to Mr Trump was grown right here in the Kingdom by Joe Sugrue. So what’s the story behind the traditional bowl of White House shamrock?
“Basically, the seeds were planted last September and we harvest it the first week in March, making sure it’s in prime condition. It’s then sent by DHL to Dublin to the Department of Foreign Affairs and on to America in a combined travel time of around four days.
“The shamrock has a shelf life of about 1015 days as the roots are intact so it remains healthy. The minute the shamrock is presented to the President it’s immediately taken away and incinerated,” explained Joe.
Based in Ballinskelligs, Irish Plants International (IPI) have supplied shamrock to US Presidents for the past 15 years, but this year’s presentation was always going to be that bit more controversial given how Trump has divided public opinion across the globe.
So, had Joe any personal reservations about supplying the 45th President with shamrock?
“Not in the slightest. President Trump was elected by the American people and we must respect that decision.
“I had wondered at the start if he would even accept this year’s shamrock given the things that were said by the Taoiseach before Trump was elected. But it turned out okay in the end, and perhaps it was one of the better meetings,” said Joe.
Some years ago Michelle Obama had requested shamrock seeds from IPI to grow in the White House gardens, but Joe admits this wouldn’t exactly have been good for business in Ballinskelligs.
“Yes, Michelle had requested shamrock seeds but it wouldn’t do us much good if shamrock was already growing around the White House! There’s great pride and publicity in growing it for the US President, but it’s just a tiny percentage of our overall business.
“We supply anything up to 150,000 shamrocks with another 30,000 grown in pots - a large portion of which goes to Massachusetts. Initially, our method of growing shamrock was devised in UCD over 21 years ago when IPI purchased the licence from them.”