Haughey's wife, Maureen, took Raisa Gorbachev on a tour of nearby Bunratty Folk Park, where 19th century Irish village life is portrayed.
Raisa Gorbachev carried a bouquet done up in green, white and orange--Ireland's national colors.
The Irish tricolor fluttered alongside the hammer-and-sickle at the terminal building where Gorbachev and Haughey talked.
Gorbachev and Haughey, surrounded by their foreign ministers and aides, met in a VIP lounge. Outside hung a vast oil painting of the late John F. Kennedy '40 that commemorated a 1963 visit by the Irish-American president shortly before he was assassinated.
A huge sign declaring "Welcome" in Irish, Russian and English hung over Shannon's sprawling duty-free shop.
Before leaving, the Gorbachevs strolled through the shop, highlighting a new Soviet-Irish connection: Irish airport authorities are organizing the duty-free shopping at Moscow's and Leningrad's airports.