ANYONE WHO HAS an Irish mammy knows the faint panic that comes with welcoming visitors.

Now imagine the scale of fussing that would happen if the visitor was the most powerful man in the world.

When Ronald Reagan was coming to visit Ireland in 1984, part of the plan was for him to meet then-Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald at Government Buildings.

However, the place wasn’t entirely ready to receive the leader of the free world.

It needed varnishing, carpets, ceiling tiles and “general cleaning up”.

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However, the preparatory works were not the only cleaning that the place underwent. A note was sent to the head messenger in the Dáil to ensure the building was opened at 6am, that all staff were assembled by 7.30am and the place was shining.

This included having bars of soap put into the toilets. Fancy.

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Read: Ronald Reagan could have 3.4 million square miles of ocean named after him

Read: The 21 most eighties Irish things ever

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