The President, Mrs McAleese, celebrated her 50th birthday yesterday in the company of a man almost twice her age.
Col Sean Clancy, who will reach his 100th year on July 7th, was a guest at a special "family day" at Aras an Uachtarain, during which staff surprised Mrs McAleese with a cake.
The last surviving officer of the Free State Army, Col Clancy, who had known Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, sat with Mrs McAleese and enjoyed her chocolate cake. They "had a good old chinwag," the President's spokeswoman said.
The reception, one of the many "family days" hosted by the President throughout the year, was held in the newly refurbished Hyde Room.
Balloons were released from the ceiling as the President was presented with her cake. "She got a great kick out of it," her spokeswoman said. Mrs McAleese then gave a speech emphasising the importance of family and friends.
"Today's families come in all shapes and sizes. They are the place where we take our first tentative steps in learning how to love and be loved, where we learned to fight out earliest battles and to celebrate our successes," she said.
"In between the ups and downs of family life, even as we nag about untidy bedrooms, or the length of the telephone bill, parents and children bring a wonderful richness to each other's lives and through their joy in each other they bring goodness to our world," she said.
