[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 195 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18302-S18303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            TRIP TO IRELAND

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, a week or so ago, I had the distinct 
pleasure of traveling with our colleague from the State of Florida, 
Connie Mack, along with a bipartisan delegation of 16 Members of the 
House of Representatives, to Northern Ireland and the Republic of 
Ireland on the occasion of President Clinton's visit there. It was a 
historic visit, the first time that a sitting American President 
visited Northern Ireland.
  Allow me to say, first of all, that regardless of one's party, 
ideology or political persuasion, I think every American, those who 
were there, those who witnessed on CNN the President's historic visit 
to Ireland, were moved by the reception that our President received.
  On three different occasions, at speeches in Derry, in Belfast, and 
in Dublin, the estimates of the crowds greeting the President were 
approximately 250,000 people. That does not include the thousands of 
people who lined the various roadways to welcome the President to the 
North of Ireland and to the Republic.
  His reception was directly related to his efforts over the past 23 
months to try and bring an end to the generational conflict in Northern 
Ireland. The last 15 of those months have been the first time in more 
than 25 years that there has been the absence of violence and the 
threat of violence that has stemmed from what the people in Ireland 
refer to as the Troubles.
  The President deserves enormous credit for setting the stage for that 
cessation of hostilities. His decision to extend a visa to Gerry Adams, 
the president of the Sinn Fein Party, early in 1994 was the bold move 
that ultimately resulted in the decision by the IRA to announce a 
unilateral cease-fire in the fall of 1994.
  For more than 15 months, the peoples of Northern Ireland and Ireland, 
as well as people in Great Britain, have enjoyed the first period of 
unprecedented peace in more than a generation.
  Still, the issues which are at the root cause of that violence remain 
to be addressed and resolved, Mr. President. Our former colleague, 
Senator George Mitchell of Maine, has been asked by the Governments of 
Great Britain and Ireland and the political parties in Northern Ireland 
to chair a commission, an international commission, to try and see if 
the issue of decommissioning of arms and related matters can be 
resolved as we proceed on a twin track, of commencing all-party talks 
by the end of February. It is through these twin tracks that the people 
of Northern Ireland can live in permanent peace, free from violence and 
discrimination.
  The remarkable change in the North is very apparent to all who go 
there. President Clinton's efforts have made that possible. I would say 
to my colleagues that there is a deep appreciation on the island of 
Ireland for that effort. There was a risk involved in it. As my 
colleague, the Presiding Officer, will recall or remember, that the 
President received a lot of advice and counsel about the wisdom of 
extending that first visa to Mr. Adams, given the history of Sinn Fein 
and the IRA. Some questioned whether or not there was a sincere 
commitment to seek a peaceful resolution of this conflict. Even after 
the IRA announced its cease-fire last year some continued to question 
whether it would hold. I know the President heard a lot of advice, the 
bulk of it, in fact, recommended against extending that visa.
  Our colleagues, Senator Moynihan of New York, Senator Kennedy, and 
others, urged the President to take the chance, to extend that visa and 
to test whether there was a true commitment to adopting the political 
track to resolve differences and whether a cease-fire might work. As a 
result of that, we have seen, as I described briefly, the events that 
unfolded over the past year or so.
  Again, Mr. President, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and her staff, 
the Government of Prime Minister Bruton, Deputy Prime Minister Dick 
Spring, and other Irish officials, did a remarkable job, along with Sir 
Patrick Mayhew and the people of Northern Ireland.
  I mentioned earlier Gerry Adams. This is a man who has played a very 
courageous part in the quest for peace for his country men and women.
  There was a tremendous effort over many months that went into making 
this trip the tremendous success that it turned out to be. 

[[Page S 18303]]

  John Hume, of Derry, whom all of us have met at one time or another 
in the past 20 years, is the individual who really initiated the peace 
effort in Northern Ireland and in Derry. What a remarkable job he and 
others have done in Derry to bring the two traditions together, the 
nationalist and unionist traditions, to try and achieve economic 
opportunity for people. John Hume and others have worked tirelessly to 
attract business and promote job growth in that community. It was truly 
a heartwarming sight to see the American President received by John 
Hume in the square of Derry, while more than 50,000 people looked on. 
Some of these people had lined the street since 9 a.m. in the morning, 
and the President arrived late in the afternoon.
  In the Guild Hall the President got a the tremendous reception; when 
the song ``The Town I Love So Well'' was sung, the audience was 
literally moved to tears. That song describes the troubles in Derry 
over the past two and one half decades.
  In Belfast, at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, 100,000 people 
gathered in the great square in Belfast--Protestants and Catholics 
alike--welcoming our President to their city. This is the same city, 
where a few months ago, you would not have thought of sending an 
American President because of the violence there, and where people were 
fearful of that when they walked into a department store or pub that 
place would be the subject of attack and violence.
  What was particularly historic was to see this crowd--again, 
presenting the great traditions of Northern Ireland--come together to 
express their appreciation to an American President, the American 
people, and to the United States Congress; it certainly was one of the 
great sights I have witnessed in my tenure here in the United States 
Senate.
  And then, Mr. President, the President was warmly received by the 
Parliament in the Republic of Ireland. The people of Dublin also came 
out en masse to express their appreciation. With over 100,000 people 
there as witnesses, President Clinton was awarded the ``Freedom of the 
City'' credentials that have only been awarded to a handful of people 
in Dublin. This was truly a high honor to receive. The President made 
very compelling remarks during his stay in Dublin.
  Certainly, the sight of those children that the President constantly 
referred to when he talked about the opportunities and the hopes for 
peace in Northern Ireland--particularly the two children at the Mackie 
Metal Plant in Belfast--who joined hands, one Catholic, one 
Protestant--representing by the clasping of hands their hopes for 
coming together and resolving differences so people can live in peace 
on the island of Ireland.
  As a person of Irish descent, for me it was more than just a foreign 
visit, but a visit by someone whose family, on both sides, has come 
from Ireland, going back well into the early part of the last century. 
I was deeply proud that an American President had taken the actions he 
has over the last couple of years and that this has made a difference 
in people's lives.
  We have seen this administration take steps in Haiti, now in Bosnia, 
there in Ireland, and in other places--steps that are certainly full of 
risks, but nonetheless I think risks worth taking, in the sense that we 
have been able to make a difference in people's lives.
  So it was a deeply moving time for those of us who were part of this 
trip to have been present at a historic visit by an American President 
to a foreign land. For all who witnessed the reception he received, I 
think it makes everyone--regardless of party, ideology, or political 
persuasion--very proud to be an American.

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