[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
[March 16, 1993]
[Pages 312-313]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the American Ireland Fund Dinner
March 16, 1993

    Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for once again participating in 
the great American charade designed to convince people that the 
President has more authority than the Speaker of the House. Now, if I 
were a prime minister, I wouldn't have to worry about that. [Laughter] 
Mr. Prime Minister, it's a delight to welcome you to our Nation's 
Capital, and I look forward to our visit tomorrow. I want to 
congratulate Chairman O'Reilly. Let me ask you: Do you like the purple? 
[Laughter] I want you to understand that is not royal purple. That is a 
substitute, because he made the ultimate sacrifice; he gave his 
President the green.
    I want to thank all those who worked so hard to make this dinner 
successful. It's often remarked that on St. Patrick's Day we're all 
Irish, or we wish we were. I am actually part Irish, and I have often 
been accused of having a certain gift for blarney--[laughter]--although 
those were not the words used last year when that was said. I'm glad to 
see Senator Kennedy and Congressman Kennedy and Mrs. Smith in the 
audience. But, you know, President Kennedy was the first Irish Catholic 
to become President. But though a Baptist from Arkansas, I'm the first 
graduate of a Catholic university to become President. I'm glad to see 
Father O'Donovan out there, my president, of Georgetown. Thank you.
    As a younger man, I went through a period of intense uncertainty 
about whether I should pursue a career in music or a career in politics. 
I was happy to learn that the Prime Minister, whom you affectionately 
called the Taoiseach--you know, I want the Members of the Congress to 
learn that. I like that, the chieftain. It has a good feeling. 
[Laughter] He's been an exponent of one of Ireland's most popular forms 
of native music, country and western. I'm glad he pursued his political 
career in Ireland, because if he had chosen to come to Arkansas, he 
might have defeated me with that sort of background. [Laughter] You 
know, Irish music has made almost as much of a contribution to modern 
life as Irish politicians, from the Chieftains to Phil Coulter to Van 
Morrison to that wonderful group U-2 that played such a major role in 
trying to get the young people in America to go and vote. The first time 
I heard that their lead singer was named Bono, I asked what his last 
name was. Then I found out he didn't

[[Page 313]]

have a last name. Then, after I spent an hour with him, I discovered he 
didn't need one. [Laughter]
    You know, there are 44 million Americans of Irish descent, that is, 
those who are telling the truth and those who lie, which qualifies 
them--[laughter]--who have contributed immeasurably to every sphere of 
our life. In fact, the house that I now live in, which either makes me 
the resident of America's finest public housing or, as some of my 
critics say, the crown jewel of the Federal penal system, was designed 
by James Hoban, a famous Irishman who designed the White House based on 
a model of a magnificent house in Ireland.
    I thought I would tell you this, for those of you who don't know, 
since President Kennedy once said at a dinner of Nobel laureates that it 
was the most distinguished array of brainpower ever gathered in the 
White House since Thomas Jefferson dined there alone. [Laughter] James 
Hoban defeated Thomas Jefferson for the design of the White House. 
Jefferson submitted anonymously a design for the White House, and the 
people making the decision, basically George Washington and a few of his 
friends, concluded that Hoban was superior to Jefferson. [Laughter]
    President Kennedy said that ``Here on Earth, God's work is truly our 
own.'' Whenever I'm asked to speak in a church I say that. It captured 
for me, more than anything else, what the essence of public service is 
about. The American Ireland Foundation embodies that phrase as well as 
any group of Americans: offering hope and opportunity to all the people 
of Ireland; promoting peace, reconciliation, and common enterprise 
between Catholics and Protestants, nationalists and unionists; and 
promoting cultural activities, community development, employment 
opportunities in health care and counseling. I am absolutely delighted, 
I must say, that the Government of Ireland is now providing a site, an 
historic castle, for the new Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children 
with life-threatening diseases. I'm glad to see Paul Newman and Joanne 
Woodward here tonight, and I can tell you that Hillary and I visited the 
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut a couple of years ago, and I 
was moved beyond words by what I saw there. And I thank everyone who is 
responsible for giving the children of Ireland this remarkable 
opportunity.
    The American Ireland Fund is doing in Ireland what we are trying to 
do here in the United States: to offer opportunity, to encourage 
responsibility, to reknit the social fabric badly frayed by the 
pressures of modern life, and to restore a sense of community without 
which it is difficult for people to proceed with their individual and 
family lives. I'm proud to support your work because it's important, 
it's an inspiration, it's a lesson for all of us, not only for those who 
are Irish all year long but for those who are just Irish for 24 hours a 
year.
    I thank the Irish Americans who have worked with me, particularly in 
the last 16 months, to try to help me learn more about Ireland, as well 
as about the problems and promise of Irish Americans here at home, and I 
look forward to working with all of you in the days and weeks and years 
ahead. I hope that we will always be able to bring to our labors the 
remarkable spirit I sense in this room tonight, and never lose the sense 
of humor which has become so associated with this wonderful holiday.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 6:43 p.m. at the Capital Hilton. In his 
remarks, he referred to Anthony J.F. O'Reilly, chairman, American 
Ireland Fund.