3/17: Lincoln-Osiris

WASHINGTON — The White House is going green for St. Patrick's Day.

The water in the fountains on the north and south lawns of the White House has been dyed green to mark the national holiday of Ireland.

First Lady Michelle Obama came up with the idea for the festive touch, said spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld. She was inspired by the St. Patrick's Day celebrations in her hometown of Chicago, where the city marks the holiday by dyeing the river green.

"It's a little piece of home for our new home," said Lelyveld, who is also from Chicago.

Lelyveld said it's the first time the water in the White House fountains has been dyed. The green hue will stay until the dye runs outs.

President Barack Obama marks St. Patrick's Day with separate meetings in Washington with Irish leaders and he'll also attend St. Patrick's Day events in the White House and on Capitol Hill.



Senator Barack Obama wears green beads to walk in the 2005 St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago.



Obama embraces his Irish heritage (his his great-great-great-grandfather Falmouth Kearney was from the village of Moneygall) in 2008.



Barley WhoYouSayin Osiris

Update: Obama calls for Steelers Dan Rooney to be embassador to Ireland.



Update: On Tuesday Michelle Obama met with students from the YouthBuild program, where she spoke about her own and President Obama's experiences with community service.




The first lady was clearly feeling the St. Patrick's Day spirit, having already dyed the fountains on the north and south lawns of the White House green. She took her celebration one step (get it?) further by wearing green suede boots. The boots were also lined with fur--no word yet on whether it was faux. She wore the festive footwear with gray slacks and a lime-colored, possibly mohair sweater set.

Update: Everybody’s a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but President Obama said Tuesday he could lay legitimate claim to that status — and might even have a long-lost link to that nation’s current leader.



It isn’t blarney: An ancestor of the president hailed from the Emerald Isle. While meeting with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen at the White House on Tuesday, Obama took the chance to recognize his Irish roots, speculating on whether the two men might be distant kin.

“So before I turn it over to Taoiseach” — the Irish leader’s official title — “it turns out we have something in common,” Obama said. “He hails from county Offaly ,and it was brought to my attention on the campaign that my great-great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side came to America from a small village in this county as well. We are still speculating on whether we are related.”