    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [March 17, 1998]
    [Pages 396-397]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Saint Patrick's Day Reception
    March 17, 1998

        The President. Thank you very much. Every time Al Gore has a crowd
    like this, he always says, ``Thank you for the standing ovation.''
    [Laughter] Taoiseach, Miss Larkin, to all of our guests, all the ambassadors here, all the
    Members of Congress, distinguished guests from the Republic of Ireland,
    Northern Ireland, and all across the United States.
        There are so many Americans here who love Ireland and long for
    peace, I hesitate to mention any, but I must mention two: First, I would
    like to thank our distinguished Ambassador, who has just announced her resignation a few months
    hence, Jean Kennedy Smith. Thank you, ma'am, for everything you have
    done. And I have to thank one other person who is in his present
    position because on one late, very sad night in 1994, my legendary
    powers of persuasion fell flat, and I was unable to persuade George
    Mitchell to run for reelection. He is
    still trying to determine whether, as a consequence, I bestowed upon him
    a blessing or a curse. [Laughter] It's why I always tell him it is,
    after all, in his hands. Thank you, Senator Mitchell, for what you are
    doing. We appreciate that.
        In his inaugural address, President Kennedy proposed a new approach
    to the cold war when he said, ``Let both sides explore what problems
    unite us instead of belaboring those which divide us.'' He eloquently
    insisted civility is not a sign of weakness. If that was true for two
    great, distant, often alien superpowers like the United States and the
    Soviet Union, surely it is true for neighbors in Ireland.
        Tonight we have here in this room representatives, leaders of all
    the parties to the peace talks. It is a great night. I was thinking in
    sort of my impish way that I almost wish I could give them a perfectly
    harmless--perfectly harmless--3-day cold, which would require them all
    to be quarantined in the Green Room. [Laughter] It's not a very big
    room, the Green Room--[laughter]--and we have a lot of parties to the
    talks. So in just 3 days of getting over a cold together, I think all
    these problems would be solved.
        Well, the peace talks won't be that easy, but all of you, you have
    to seize this historic moment. Just think, in just a few weeks, you
    could lift this enormous burden from the shoulders of all the children
    of Ireland.
        It has been said that St. Patrick's Day is the day when the entire
    world wishes it were Irish. Well, when lasting peace finally comes, the
    entire world will rejoice. When I heard the wonderful songs up here and
    Frank's wonderful reading, and all the
    eloquence of Irish passion and pain and joy came flooding out of the
    performers, young and old, I was reminded of that great line from Yeats:
    ``In dreams begin responsibility.'' All the Irish are dreamers. In the
    next few weeks, if Irish responsibility measures up to Irish dreams,
    this next year's celebration here will be the greatest in the history of
    this great house.
        God bless you.

    [At this point, the First Lady
    introduced Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of
    Ireland, the Taoiseach, who then made brief remarks.]

        The President. We're about to leave. I feel duty bound, because
    there are so many people from Massachusetts here today--[laughter]--to
    tell you that in Massachusetts this is a dual holiday. This is also the
    day when over 200 years ago the British left Massachusetts, so it's
    called Evacuation Day. [Laughter]
        Now, that means that you must evacuate the White House. [Laughter] I
    have to say that so

    [[Page 397]]

    State Secretary Mowlam doesn't think I made
    an anti-British slur here. [Laughter] But you needn't leave until 11:59
    p.m.--[laughter]--because it will still be Evacuation Day. [Laughter]
        Enjoy. We love having you here. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:35 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Celia Larkin, who accompanied
    Prime Minister Ahern; George J. Mitchell, independent chairman of the
    multiparty talks in Northern Ireland; Pulitzer Prize-winning author
    Frank McCourt; and Marjorie Mowlam, United Kingdom Secretary of State
    for Northern Ireland.