[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18097-S18098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PRESIDENT CLINTON'S VISIT TO ENGLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND, AND IRELAND

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, the warm reception President Clinton 
received last week when he visited Ireland and the United Kingdom was a 
fitting tribute to his commitment to peace in Northern Ireland.
  President Clinton's involvement in the Northern Ireland issue helped 
bring about the paramilitary cease-fires of 1994 and he continues to 
impact positively on the efforts for peace there.
  On Friday evening, the Irish Government hosted a dinner for President 
and Mrs. Clinton at Dublin Castle. Irish Prime Minister John Bruton 
spoke of the President's foreign policy successes, especially his 
commitment to bringing peace to Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Bruton 
mentioned in particular United States diplomatic efforts and economic 
support, including the International Fund for Ireland and the 
Washington Conference on Investment which the President hosted in May 
in Washington.
  President Clinton commended the Taoiseach for work with Prime 
Minister Major which led to the recent announcement of the launch of 
the twin-track process.
  I commend to my colleagues the toasts given by the President and 
Taoiseach and I ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the toasts were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Remarks by the President and Prime Minister Bruton in an Exchange of 
        Toasts, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland, December 1, 1995

       Mr. Bruton.  Mr. President, Finola and I heartily welcome 
     you and your wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to our country. 
     You have seen for yourselves and felt for yourselves the 
     warmth of the affection and the admiration in which you are 
     held throughout this island. The affection and admiration 
     extends to you personally, to your administration, to the 
     office that you hold, and particularly to the great country 
     that you need.
       We welcome, too, the bipartisan congressional delegation, 
     representing your two great political parties who have come 
     with you to Ireland.
       Tonight is for remembering; it's for celebrating and it's 
     for looking ahead. We think of past Presidents of the United 
     States who have visited Ireland--in June 1963, John 
     Fitzgerald Kennedy captivated Ireland as he captivated the 
     world. To us, he was not only a reminder of our past, but a 
     vision of our future. We thank you for sending the late 
     President's sister, Jean Kennedy Smith, to work with us now 
     as your Ambassador. (Applause.)
       The late President Richard Nixon visited this country in 
     1970. And President Ronald Reagan, who visited us in 1984, 
     was, like you, a great friend of this country; a great man 
     whose bravery in publicly acknowledging his illness has given 
     courage, reassurance and consultation to millions across the 
     globe who face the same challenge in their lives.
       The ties which bind Ireland and the United States cover all 
     human activity. The story of the Irish in America is the 
     story of America itself. It's a tale of extraordinary 
     success, shown in the presence here tonight of some 
     outstanding Irish Americans. But to the spectacular 
     achievements of the few must be added the lesser triumphs of 
     the many--Irish farmers and builders; policemen and nurses; 
     teachers and firemen, who from Boston to San Francisco have 
     made America what it is today.
       In celebrating success let us not forget hardship. This is 
     the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine which drove so many 
     Irish to seek refuge in America, where they found a welcome 
     and an ability to remake their lives through sheer hard work.
       As Ireland itself changes, so, too, does its relationship 
     with the United States. The highly educated Irish emigrants 
     of the 1980s and 1990s are helping make America today a 
     stronger and a better place. They moved back and forth 
     between the old world and the new with facility and ease. And 
     many returned here, having worked in the United States, to 
     become part of the young internationally-minded, well-trained 
     work force which, combined with a good tax and investment 
     climate, make Ireland a natural home, a natural base for 
     great United States cooperations like Intel, Motorola, 
     Microsoft, and Abbott.
       In the 74 years since the treaty of 1921, signed this week 
     74 years ago, this state of ours, born in fire, has 
     transformed itself into a mature European democracy, secure 
     in its ethos, open to the world and proud of its youth.
       (Speaks in Gaelic.) (Applause.)
       American political ideas of liberty, of government based on 
     the consent of the governed and of the separation of powers, 
     have inspired our Irish Constitution. Your Constitution also 
     acknowledges the fact that people do not always agree. Your 
     second President, John Adams, said that ``America has been a 
     theater of parties and feuds for nearly 200 years.'' Judging 
     from your own recent experience, Mr. President, I think you 
     might agree with him. (Laughter.)
       But quarrels pass; ideas remain. The use of political power 
     must be based on moral values. As President Jefferson said, 
     ``Our interests soundly calculated will ever be found 
     inseparable from our moral duties.'' Moral duties freely 
     followed are the best compass in personal relations, the best 
     compass in domestic politics, and the best compass in foreign 
     policy.
       We admire the achievements of your administration in 
     foreign policy--in Haiti, in the Middle East, and most 
     recently and most notably, in Bosnia. Your country's moral 
     vision has helped bring peace and stability to the world. I 
     know that I speak for all in Ireland when I say thank you 
     from the depth of my heart for the sustained commitment that 
     you have shown in bringing peace to this country. (Applause.)
       At the beginning of your presidency you said that you'd be 
     there for the Irish not just on one day of the year, but 
     every day of the year. You have lived up to that. And so, 
     too, has Vice President Gore, Secretary Christopher, Tony 
     Lake and his staff, and Senator George Mitchell. You and they 
     have given your time and your energies not only to myself and 
     to the Tanaiste, but to many political figures from every 
     side of the divide in Northern Ireland. You've shown balance, 
     as you saw yesterday in Belfast and Derry. You've won respect 
     and confidence right across the divide, across which it is 
     almost impossible to win common respect--the respect that you 
     have won, Mr. President.
       And America has backed its words with deeds, as we're 
     seeing in the work of the International Fund for Ireland, 
     and most notably, in the follow-through of your 
     initiative, the Washington Conference on Investment in 
     Ireland.
       In Northern Ireland, the key to success and agreement is 
     dialogue. And in dialogue, all must accept those on the other 
     side as they are, not as they might wish them to be. Irish 
     Nationalism is beginning to understand and respect Unionism. 
     Unionists are beginning to understand and respect 
     Nationalism. Both must coexist and must grow together.
       The principle of consent is profoundly important. Consent 
     means that the constitutional status of Northern Ireland 
     cannot be changed without the agreement of the people there. 
     But consent also means that the system of government in 
     Northern Ireland must be one to which both communities can 
     agree. In one sense, neither side has a veto. And yet, in 
     another sense, both sides have a veto. So getting agreement 
     isn't going to be easy.
       And I believe that we will find in some words of yours, Mr. 
     President, the inspiration that will help us find that 
     illusive agreement. Let us think of all the good that people 
     do on a daily basis--in schools and health care and in 
     business in Northern Ireland. Let us think of the kindness 
     the people there continue to show to one another every day of 
     the week, across the religious divide even at the height of 
     25 years of trouble. That spirit needs to be reflected in 
     politics.
       You said in your inaugural address, ``There's nothing wrong 
     with America that cannot be cured by what is right with 
     America.'' I say there's nothing wrong with Northern Ireland 
     that cannot be cured by what is right with Northern Ireland. 
     There is nothing wrong between North and South on this island 
     that cannot be cured by what is right between North and South 
     on this island. And there's nothing wrong between Britain and 
     Ireland that cannot be cured by what is already right between 
     Britain and Ireland.
       While you were still a presidential candidate, in an 
     interview, I believe, to The New York Times in 1992--June, I 
     believe it was--you said, ``If you live long enough you'll 
     make mistakes. But if you learn from those, you'll be a 
     better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it 
     affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never 
     quit.'' Do you remember saying that? (Applause.)
       We will not quit. We will not quit in our search for a 
     balanced, fair and just settlement on this island, and 
     between this island and its neighbors to which all can give 
     equal allegiance.
       I'd like to propose a toast--to the President and the 
     people of the United States of America. The President and the 
     people of the United States.
       (A toast is offered.) (Applause.)
       The President. To the Taoiseach and Mrs. Bruton, and to all 
     of our hosts. Hillary and I are honored to be here tonight 
     with all of you, and to be here in the company of some of 
     America's greatest Irish Americans, including Senator George 
     Mitchell, who has taken on such a great and difficult task; a 
     bipartisan congressional delegation headed by Congressman 
     Walsh; many members of the Ambassador's family, including 
     Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Lt. Governor of Maryland; the 
     Mayors of Chicago and Los Angeles; Secretary Riley, the 
     Secretary of Education; Mark Gearan, Director of the Peace 
     Corps. And as I said, we have the Secretary of Commerce, Ron 
     Brown, tonight, who wishes, more than ever before in his 
     life, that he were Irish. (Laughter.) I think he is down deep 
     inside. (Laughter.)
       I thank you also for--I see the Mayor of Pittsburgh here--I 
     know I've left out some others--my wonderful step-father, 
     Dick Kelley, who thought it was all right when I got elected 
     President. But when I brought him home to Ireland he knew I 
     had finally arrived. (Laughter and applause.) 
     
[[Page S 18098]]

       You know, the Taoiseach has been not only a good friend to 
     me in our work for peace, but a good friend to the United 
     States. Indeed, he and Finola actually came to Washington, 
     D.C. to celebrate their honeymoon. I think it's fair to say 
     that his honeymoon there lasted longer than mine did. 
     (Laughter and applause.)
       I managed to get even with at least one member of 
     Congress--or former member of Congress--when I convinced 
     Senator Mitchell to give into the entreaties of the Taoiseach 
     and the Prime Minister to head this arms decommissioning 
     group. Now, there's any easy job for you. (Laughter.) You 
     know, in Ireland I understand there's a--our American country 
     music is very popular--Garth Brooks said the other day he 
     sold more records in Ireland than any other place in the 
     world outside America. So I told Senator Mitchell today 
     that--he was telling me what a wonderful day we had yesterday 
     in Derry and Belfast, and what a wonderful day we had today 
     in Dublin, and I said, ``Yes, now you get to go to work.'' I 
     said, this reminds me of that great country song, ``I Got the 
     Gold Mine and You Got the Shaft.'' (Laughter and applause.) 
     But if anybody can bring out more gold, George Mitchell can. 
     (Laughter.)
       I want to thank the Taoiseach for the courage he showed in 
     working with the Prime Minister of Great Britain, from the 
     day he took office, taking up from his predecessor, Albert 
     Reynolds, right through this remarkable breakthrough that he 
     and Prime Minister Major made on the twin tracks that he 
     helped to forge just two days ago. This is an astonishing 
     development really because it is the first formulation anyone 
     has come up with that permits all views to be heard, all 
     voices to speak, all issues to be dealt with, without 
     requiring people to give up the positions they have taken at 
     the moment. We are very much in your debt.
       This has been an experience like none I have ever had 
     before. Yesterday, John Hume, who's joined us, took me home 
     to Derry with him. And I thought to myself--all my life 
     ``Danny Boy'' has been my favorite song--I never thought I'd 
     get to go there to hear it. But thanks to John, I did.
       And then we were before in Belfast. And all of you, I'm 
     sure, were so moved by those two children who introduced me, 
     reading excerpts from the letters. You know, I've got 
     thousands and thousands of letters from Irish children 
     telling me what peace means to them. One thing I am convinced 
     of as I leave here --that there is a global hunger among 
     young people for their parents to put down the madness of war 
     in favor of their childhood. (Applause.)
       I received this letter from a teenager right here in 
     Dublin. I thought I would read it to you, to make the point 
     better than I could. This is just an excerpt: ``With your 
     help, the chances given to reason and to reasonable people, 
     so that the peace in my country becomes reality. What is lost 
     is impossible to bring back. Children who were killed are 
     gone forever. No one can bring them back. But for all those 
     who survive these sufferings, there is future.''
       The young person from Dublin who wrote me that was Zlata 
     Filipovic, the young teenager from Bosnia who is now living 
     here, who wrote her wonderful diary that captured the 
     imagination of people all over the world.
       I am honored that at this moment in the history of the 
     world the United States has had the great good fortune to 
     stand for the future of children in Ireland, in Bosnia, in 
     the Middle East, in Haiti and on the toughest streets of our 
     own land. And I thank you here in Ireland for taking your 
     stand for those children's future, as well.
       Let me say in closing that in this 150th anniversary of the 
     Great Famine, I would like everyone in the world to pay 
     tribute to Ireland for coming out of the famine with perhaps 
     a greater sense of compassion for the fate of people the 
     world over than any other nation. I said today in my speech 
     to the Parliament that there had not been a single, solitary 
     day--not one day--since 1958, when someone representing the 
     government of Ireland was not somewhere in the world trying 
     to aid the cause of peace. I think there is no other nation 
     on Earth that can make that claim.
       And as I leave I feel so full of hope for the situation 
     here in Ireland and so much gratitude for you, for what you 
     have given to us. And I leave you with these words, which I 
     found as I was walking out the door from the Ambassador's 
     Residence. The Ambassador made it possible for Hillary and me 
     to spend a few moments this evening with Seamus Heaney and 
     his wife, since I have been running around the country 
     quoting him for two days. (Laughter.) I might say, without 
     his permission. (Laughter.) And he gave Hillary an inscribed 
     copy of his book ``The Cure At Troy.'' And as I skimmed 
     through it, I found these words, with which I leave you:
       ``Now it's high water mark, and flood tide in the heart and 
     time to go. What's left to say? Suspect too much sweet talk, 
     but never close your mind. It was a fortunate wind that blew 
     me here. I leave half ready to believe that a cripple's trust 
     might walk and the half-true rhyme is love.''
       Thank you and God bless you. (Applause.)
       I thought I had done something for a moment to offend the 
     Taoiseach--he was forcing me on water instead of wine. 
     (Laughter.)
       Let me now, on behalf of every American here present, 
     bathed in the generosity and the hospitality of Ireland, 
     offer this toast to the Taoiseach and Mrs. Bruton and to the 
     wonderful people of this great Republic.
       (A toast is offered.) (Applause.)

                          ____________________