[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 96 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S7041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


        BIDDING FAREWELL TO HIS EXCELLENCY, AMBASSADOR GALLAGHER

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I would like to offer some brief comments, 
if I may, regarding a good friend to many of us here who will be 
returning to his country in the next few days. I speak of Dermot A. 
Gallagher, Mr. President, the current Ambassador of Ireland to the 
United States.
  Mr. President, Dermot Gallagher can leave the United States with 
pride in the work that he has done for his Government and his country.
  I have had the privilege, Mr. President, of working closely with 
Dermot over the last 6 years, as many of us have. It has been an 
extremely positive experience, and I have come to consider Dermot not 
only a competent diplomat, but a good friend, and a good friend to this 
country. Without doubt, Dermot Gallagher is a consummate professional, 
an able and talented diplomat, and an individual who has served his 
country with skill and grace. And in no small measure, he has been 
assisted in that process by his lovely wife Maeve who has been a 
partner in this endeavor of theirs over the last number of years.
  It goes without saying that Ambassador Gallagher has had an 
extraordinarily busy and productive tenure as Ireland's Ambassador in 
Washington. From early 1994 until the present, Ireland, and 
particularly the Northern Ireland peace process, have been front-burner 
issues for the Irish, the British, and our own Government.
  Naturally, Dermot Gallagher has been in the thick of all of it. He 
has been an effective spokesman for his Government with the State 
Department, the White House, and the Congress. He has also been 
enormously helpful, I might point out, Mr. President, to those of us 
who have been actively involved in trying to get the peace process back 
on track in that country following the tragic decision of the IRA last 
year to break the August 1994 cease-fire.
  Ambassador Gallagher may be returning home to Dublin, but I am 
confident he will remain actively involved in many of the same issues 
with which he has become so intimately knowledgeable. I say this 
because Ambassador Gallagher will be returning to Dublin to assume the 
position of Second Secretary General within the Department of Foreign 
Affairs, where he will continue to play a major role in Anglo-Irish 
issues, especially in the Northern Ireland peace process.
  Given the recent events in Drumcree, where once again violence 
erupted, Mr. President, in connection with the annual Orange Order 
parade season, he will have his work cut out for him. Dermot will play 
a critical role in advising the newly elected Irish prime minister, 
Bertie Ahern, on the most effective policies for the Irish Government 
to pursue in order to restore a climate of trust, peace, and 
reinvigorate the currently stalled peace process.
  So, Mr. President, I know again I speak for all of my colleagues here 
when I bid Ambassador Gallagher and his wife Maeve and their family a 
farewell and a thank you for a job very well done. We continue to look 
forward to working with him in the years ahead.

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