[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.