Mam, someone wants to speak to you... a call from Barack

“Mam, someone wants to speak to you.” That’s what Jessica Walls said to her mother Glynis before handing her mobile phone over to President Obama.

“Then I realised I was talking to the President of the United States”, Glynis said last night. “He asked me what my name was and I told him and I said ‘Oh my God Mr President it’s a great honour to talk to you!’

He said my daughter was having a great time in College Green and I said ‘that’s partly down to you and the historic occasion that it was’.”

Jessica had queued from early yesterday to get a spot at the front of the crowd. Ms Walls told RTÉ her daughter, in addition to meeting Mr and Mrs Obama she had earlier met Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fionnuala Kenny, whom she also introduced to her mother by phone. “She’s a lovely lady” Ms Walls said.

However the highlight of the day was her chat with Mr Obama, she said.

“I’ll never never forget it I’ll probably kill my daughter when she gets home because I wasn’t expecting something like that but I’m glad that she was such a thoughtful child to actually share the occasion with me.”