The poem, Alhassan said when reached by BuzzFeed News on Facebook Messenger, first appeared online and since then has been read on local radio and published in his own book of poems. But that doesn't explain how it got to the president — a fact that people around him have noticed and started teasing him about.

"It's actually strange," he said. "I'm wondering what must have made him relate it to Ireland even if he loves the lines."