Tea towels, lucky flag pins, a framed copy of the Proclamation of Independence, and an Aran sweater were among the gifts given out by the office of the Taoiseach last year. The total costs of items presented by the Department in 2024 was €7,345, a third of which was for St Patrick’s Day events in the United States. Among the items presented were a €492 set of bespoke silver harp cufflinks for the former US President Joe Biden. He was also given a complimentary Cooley Kickhams GAA jersey while his wife Jill received a gift of silver brooches and a commemorative stamp. Later in the year, then-Taoiseach Simon Harris gave Mr Biden a letter from John F Kennedy to Sean Lemass following the President’s visit to Ireland in 1963. The priciest gift in the department database was the €944.70 paid out for thirty bottles of Irish whiskey for members of the European Council. Along with that, each member of the council was presented with a silver Tipperary Crystal Christmas tree decoration, which collectively cost €351. The Prime Minister of Luxembourg was given a framed copy of the Irish Proclamation of Independence which cost €82. Other gifts included an Ireland soccer scarf and a personalised Irish soccer jersey for Keir UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, both of which were provided complimentary to the department. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a €108 Aran sweater from Taoiseach Simon Harris last September and an €80 bottle of Teelings whiskey. Mr Harris also brought a €30 bottle of Jameson for the Ukrainian PM and a collection of Irish rag dolls and books for a visit to a kid’s centre in Kyiv. Other gifts offered last year included a bottle of Drumshanbo Gunpowder gin and a set of candles costing €98 to the Premier of the State Council of China. Go-to presents for delegations and visiting staffers included cufflinks, lapel pins, bookmarks, and soy candles. The Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly received a €23 magenta wool scarf while the governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey was gifted a €63 silk scarf. Other gifts from 2024 included a €34 ogham frame for the New York Governor Kathy Hochul and a €92 set of cufflinks for Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.