Obama jabs 'birthers' with Irish certificate

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CNN Political Unit

(CNN) - While receiving a formal certificate of Irish heritage at a St. Patrick's Day celebration on Tuesday, President Barack Obama didn't miss a beat in taking a jab at the so-called "birther" movement.

"This will have a special place of honor alongside my birth certificate," he joked, to great laughter.

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Ireland's Taoiseach (prime minister) Enda Kenny presented Obama with the certificate at a White House reception in honor of the president's Irish roots.

The document was to serve, Kenny said, as a "permanent reminder" of Obama's trip last year to the Irish town of Moneygall, where the president's great-great-great grandfather emigrated from during the nineteenth century.

Earlier in the day, Obama and Kenny, along with Vice President Joe Biden, joined House Speaker John Boehner for a lunch on Capitol Hill.

At the reception in the East Room Tuesday night, Obama acknowledged the belated holiday festivity.

"Today is not in fact St. Patrick's Day," he joked. "We just wanted to prove that America considers Ireland a dear and steadfast friend every day of the year."

Also making an appearance at the reception was Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, whose Irish rock band, "O'Malley's March," performed for the guests, many of them dressed in green.

The White House reception marked an extended celebration of St. Patrick's Day for the president. On Saturday, Obama popped into a popular pub in Washington to have a pint of Guinness with other revelers.

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