Brutons visit Obama at White House

The European Union Ambassador to the United States, Dunboyne native John Bruton and his wife, Finola, recently attended a reception for the diplomatic corps given in the White House by President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. Mr Bruton said it was a very enjoyable event for all of the diplomatic guests, who mingled in a relaxed pre-vacation atmosphere. "The President and his wife received each couple individually, a physically demanding process for the First Couple which they performed with exceptional grace and good humour," Mr Bruton said. "Needless to say, I took the opportunity to urge the President to come in person to visit the institutions of the European Union in Brussels. The President has already visited Europe three times since he took office, something which is warmly appreciated on our side of the Atlantic." Meanwhile, it has been announced that a new documentary is being produced on the American president's Irish connections. Olympia Films' new two-part documentary, 'Obama's Irish Roots', is currently being shot in Offaly and Dublin, and seeks to trace President Obama's ancestry along his maternal heritage, a journey of 5,000 miles from Offaly in 1682 to 1942 to the birth of Obama's mother in Kansas.