Shamrock Summit

The Shamrock Summit was the colloquial name given to the March 17–18, 1985 meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and US President Ronald Reagan in Quebec City.

The summit was capped by a televised gala, which ended with Mulroney, Reagan and their wives singing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, which publicly exemplified the camaraderie between the two leaders.

[1][2][3] Documents later revealed that American officials saw the summit as a chance to mend relations between the two countries in the post-Pierre Trudeau era.

Mulroney enjoyed a close friendship with Reagan at the time; both men considered themselves conservatives politically, and shared a common agenda on many issues, notably free trade.

Canadian historian Jack Granatstein said that this "public display of sucking up to Reagan may have been the single most demeaning moment in the entire political history of Canada's relations with the United States.

The Mulroneys and Reagans in Quebec City, Canada, March 18, 1985, the second day of the summit.
The Mulroneys and Reagans singing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" at the Grand Théâtre de Québec in Quebec City, Canada, March 18, 1985.