14 photos of St. Patrick's Day celebrations at the White House through the years
Talia Lakritz  Â
- St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17 every year.
- Irish leaders traditionally visit the White House and gift the US president with shamrocks.
- During Barack Obama's presidency, the White House fountain was dyed green for the occasion.
In 1952, Ireland's ambassador to the US John Hearne sent President Harry Truman a box of shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, and a tradition was born.
Over the years, the White House has celebrated the holiday with leprechauns, shamrock lapels, and even green dye in the fountains.
Here's what presidential St. Patrick's Day celebrations have looked like through the years.
As President John F. Kennedy was America's first Irish-Catholic president, St. Patrick's Day held special meaning for him.
In 1961, Irish Ambassador Thomas J. Kiernan presented him with a basket of shamrocks and the Kennedy coat of arms with a family tree showing his Irish ancestry.
Irish Ambassador William Patrick Fay pinned a cluster of shamrocks to President Richard Nixon's lapel in 1969.
The Irish delegation also gifted him with a foot-high Waterford crystal vase engraved with a White House etching.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter received a Waterford crystal vase from Irish foreign minister Garret FitzGerald.
FitzGerald went on to serve as Taoiseach, the prime minister of Ireland, from 1981 to 1982 and from 1982 to 1987.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave FitzGerald a hat embroidered with the words "Very Important Irishman."
Reagan also accepted the traditonal shamrock gift.
Reagan was visited by a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day in 1986.
The leprechaun presented Reagan with a personalized shamrock.
President George H.W. Bush received a bowl of shamrocks from deputy prime minister of Ireland Brian Lenihan in 1990.
The reception took place in the White House Rose Garden.
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton wore a green dress for St. Patrick's Day in 1995.
President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton posed with Irish Prime Minister John Bruton and his wife, Finola Bruton, in the Grand Foyer of the White House.
President Bill Clinton received a bowl of shamrocks from Prime Minister John Bruton in 1996.
The two men also wore shamrock lapels.
In 2001, President George W. Bush accepted the traditional gift in the Roosevelt Room.
First lady Laura Bush wore a green jacket in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
President Bush, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were serenaded by the United States Air Force Reserve Pipe Band in 2007.
The group walked down the steps of the House of Representatives on their way to the White House for the shamrock ceremony.
Michelle Obama wore a green Michael Kors dress to the White House St. Patrick's Day reception in 2011.
Obama stood onstage with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's wife, Fionnuala Kenny.
In 2012, the White House fountain on the South Lawn was dyed green for the occasion.
President Obama also visited a bar and attended a St. Patrick's Day lunch at the Capitol.
First lady Melania Trump wore a green animal print sheath dress designed by Brandon Maxwell to greet the prime minister of Ireland in 2018.
She paired the dress with Christian Louboutin snakeskin heels.
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar wore shamrock lapels on St. Patrick's Day in 2018.
When asked if he would visit Ireland, Trump said, "I would love to visit Ireland soon, I will come, I love it, I have property there, I will go," the BBC reported.
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