TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY is to take part in the traditional ‘shamrock ceremony’ at the White House today, following a speech where he praised the “indomitable spirit of the Irish people”.

Kenny delivered the speech to the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC. “I’m happy to say that we have moved away from a situation of chronic contraction,” he said, adding that it was now “stability and growth” that defined Ireland’s economy.

Speaking of the Irish spirit, the Taoiseach said that this had been happened due to the ability of the Irish people to “make and accept the huge sacrifices we’ve asked of them”.

It is thanks to their patience, their dignity, their sacrifice that we are now on that better, more sustainable path.

Kenny blamed what he called the “fragmentation of Europe’s banking systems, and the vicious circle this creates between sovereign and banking debt crises” for the eurozone debt crisis.

When a bank fails in Ireland or Spain – unlike Texas or New York – it is the taxpayers of individual European States alone that are exposed to the costs.

There was some surprise at the fact that the date of today’s shamrock ceremony wasn’t changed, with President Obama and Kenny set to miss today’s inauguration of Pope Francis.

The shamrock ceremony at the White House ceremony first began back in 1952 during the time President Harry Truman was in office.

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