    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [March 17, 2000]
    [Pages 484-485]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Saint Patrick's Day Ceremony With Prime Minister Bertie
    Ahern of Ireland
    March 17, 2000

        Thank you very much. Thank you, Taoiseach, for your words and your
    leadership, for the shamrocks and the beautiful Irish crystal. Upstairs
    in our Residence, there is so much Irish crystal now that sometimes I
    have guests from other countries that ask me if I've ever been anywhere
    but Ireland. [Laughter] But I will treasure this always.
        I don't suppose the saints in Heaven spend time boasting about their
    earthly achievements, but if they do, I imagine the other saints can
    bear no more bragging from Saint Patrick, for no nation has ever lived
    up more fully to the virtues of its patron saint than has Ireland. Saint
    Patrick has been described as one of the great saints of the downtrodden
    and the excluded.

    [[Page 485]]

    And the legendary, large-hearted Irish people are famous for reaching
    out to the world's less fortunate.
        Whenever the troubled places of the Earth have called out for help,
    the Irish have answered the call, always among the first in economic
    assistance, disaster relief, peacekeeping. Indeed, in the past four
    decades, there has never been a day, not a single day, that Irish troops
    have not stood watch for peace on some distant shore. All of you have
    paid a price for this. Like all of Ireland, I was saddened by the recent
    deaths of four young Irish soldiers serving with the United Nations in
    Lebanon.
        As Ireland has committed itself to the cause of peace around the
    world, it is right that the world, and especially the United States,
    should commit ourselves to the cause of peace in Ireland.
        I repeat today the promise I made in Dublin 4 years ago: America
    will be with you as you walk the road to peace. We are conscious that
    Ireland, along with the other parties to the Good Friday accord, made
    fundamental and principled compromises in the effort to secure a lasting
    peace. That agreement remains the very best hope we have ever had for
    achieving peace, and I still believe it will succeed.
        And the model of the Good Friday accord represents not just hope for
    Northern Ireland but hope for so many stricken areas all across the
    Earth now suffering from sectarian violence. As extraordinary as
    Ireland's record is in exporting peace and peacekeepers to troubled
    areas of the Earth, nothing will compare to the gift Ireland gives the
    world if you can make your own peace permanent and meet the urgent need
    of the world for proof that a path to peace can be found.
        In the sixth year of Saint Patrick's enslavement, he was awakened by
    a mysterious voice that said: ``Your hungers are rewarded. You are going
    home. Look, your ship is ready.'' His fateful response to depart
    immediately and seek his destiny set in motion his vocation to study, to
    learn, and then return to Ireland to bring faith and peace. By the
    persuasive force of the spirit, he began to change the warring
    traditions of the Irish tribes. But his accomplishments, great as they
    are, remain, after all these centuries, incomplete.
        And so I say to you, Taoiseach, your ship is ready. In the smiling
    eyes of the Irish child, you have all the cause you will ever need to
    intensify the search for peace. I hope all the leaders and people of
    Ireland will follow your lead. I hope all those in Northern Ireland,
    especially, will heed this call. We must fulfill the pastoral mission of
    Saint Patrick. Nothing is more fitting on this Saint Patrick's Day.
        Thank you very much.

     Note:  The President spoke at approximately 4:15 p.m. in the Roosevelt
    Room at the White House. The transcript released by the Office of the
    Press Secretary also included the remarks of Prime Minister Ahern.