AFTER HIS address to the joint session of the Houses of Congress yesterday, the Taoiseach had a half-hour private meeting with US president George Bush at the White House.
The Taoiseach was accompanied by his daughter Cecilia and her partner David Keoghan and his sister Kathleen Murphy, her son Don and daughter Sheila.
Officials said that Ms Ahern presented Mr Bush with copies of her books as the president chatted about his daughter Jenna's forthcoming wedding in Texas.
The president praised Mr Ahern's speech to Congress, which he described as a fitting tribute to the Taoiseach's record of public service, notably his contribution to the peace process.
The two men discussed next week's investment conference in the North and touched briefly on a number of foreign policy issues.
The president was joined at the meeting by his national security adviser Stephen Hadley, special envoy Paula Dobriansky and the US ambassador to Ireland, Tom Foley.
The Taoiseach praised Mr Bush during his speech to Congress, both for the president's support for the Northern peace process and for his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.
Later yesterday, Mr Ahern was due to attend a reception hosted by the American Ireland Fund before joining more than 400 guests at the residence of the Irish ambassador to Washington, Michael Collins.
Mark Hennessy adds: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's late mother Julia would have been "very proud" of his speech to the US Houses of Congress, his brother Noel said last night.
"She would have been proud, but Mammy was always proud. She would have been impressed," he told Independent Network News (INN).
