Washington Correspondent
The tradition of a bowl of shamrock being presented to a US president on St Patrick's Day will be continued this year, even though the event will be virtual.
The crystal bowl, which this year was made by Criostal na Rinne in County Waterford, is already at the White House and was delivered there on Friday by Irish embassy staff.
The shamrock bowl will be placed on President Joe Biden's desk during his virtual St Patrick's Day meeting with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Wednesday.
Discussions are expected to cover a broad agenda of issues, including the deep ties between the US and Ireland, Covid-19 and shared global challenges, such as climate change.