President Obama’s recent trip to Ireland will go down as a great success, but it did not go off entirely without a hitch. Much to the embarrassment of US embassy officials the Beast, one of Obama’s special armoured limousines, got grounded as it exited the embassy car park and it was left to an Irish recovery operator to come to the rescue.

The Beast got wedged on a speed ramp while attempting to exit the embassy, although the President and First Lady were in another vehicle at the time. The $300,000 limousine is designed to withstand all kinds of terrorists and chemical attacks and is fitted with steel plating and seven-inch thick doors. This makes the vehicle extremely heavy, so towing it is no simple task.

Kelly’s Recovery of Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, got the call to come to the aide of the Presidents stricken car with Keith, son of owner Eamon Kelly, designated to be the man at the scene. Because of the scale of the problem, a truck usually used for truck and bus recovery was drafted in, but this was not the only problem that Keith faced. The Beast was not a car designed for easy towing and because of its left hand drive, towing equipment had to be adapted at the scene to do the job. Those doing the work also had the added complication that they were not allowed into the car and had to work under the constant and close scrutiny of the American secret service.

The Beast took some three hours to move safely and was eventually towed to a secret location from where it was moved to the airport, for a return flight to Washington.