Some of the biggest names in showbusiness were at Barack Obama's first State dinner, from film moguls David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, to Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood agent and brother of Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff, singer Jennifer Hudson, actor Blair Underwood and -- reflecting the bilateral nature of the event -- the Indian-born screenwriter M. Night Shyamalan.

And then, milling inconspicuously around the South Lawn, sipping cocktails, nibbling canapes and by all accounts getting gently sozzled, were the couple who have become known as the White House crashers, Tareq and Michaele Salahi.

The couple had travelled up from Virginia, dressed to the nines, for a big night out.

At precisely 9.08pm, they used Facebook to brag to friends they were "honoured to be at the White House for the state dinner in honour of India with President Obama and our First Lady!" Shortly afterwards, the Salahis posted a photo of themselves cuddling up to the grinning US Vice President, Joe Biden.

And a posting under a picture of Mrs Salahi with Vice President Joe Biden said: "OMG! SO EXCITING!!!!!! IRISH EYES ARE SMILING TOGETHER!"

The Salahis, who are both in their 40s, are now being widely described as "reality TV stars".

Rather they are socialites from Virginia who are moderately well-known on the local polo circuit. In recent months, they have been followed, at several glamorous events, by a camera crew making a Real Housewives TV series for the Bravo entertainment channel.

The couple's only other brush with celebrity involves a long-running feud with Tareq's parents over control of the once-lucrative family business, the Oasis Winery near Hume, during which Tareq alleged that he had been punched by his parents' lawyer.

They certainly know their way around the canape circuit, and their appearance -- Tareq looks every inch the bloated plutocrat, while Michaele is a former cheerleader for the Washington Redskins -- would have helped them blend in.

They arrived at the White House, on a rainy evening, about halfway through the crowd of 300 guests. Their names were not on any checklist, but a quick check of their personal IDs against terrorist databases doesn't appear to have sent up any "red flags".

The Salahis were then waved through to an airport-style security point along with all the other guests, where it was confirmed that they weren't carrying weapons. They then stopped to pose for photographers who had gathered to chronicle the guests arriving. He was dressed in a double-breasted dinner jacket and fake bowtie, she in a red and gold lehenga, a formal Indian garment.

After that, they walked up a long hallway to a cocktail reception in the East Room, posing for souvenir pictures with such luminaries as Adrian Fenty, the Washington Mayor.

Once guests were invited into the dinner marquee, on the South Lawn, the couple got down to serious mingling. One picture, swiftly uploaded to their joint Facebook page, shows them embracing the Oscar-winning Bollywood composer AR Rahman. Another has them cuddling up to a slightly bemused Rahm Emanuel. The last in the series involved Mr Biden. When dinner was eventually called, threatening to blow their cover, they appear to have scarpered.

hnews@herald.ie