    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 21 (Monday, May 29, 1995)]
    [Pages 909-910]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at the White House Conference on Trade and Investment in Ireland
    Reception

    May 25, 1995

        Thank you very much. Let me welcome all of you again, and say a
    special word of welcome to Deputy Prime Minister Spring, Sir Patrick
    Mayhew, Ambassador Gallagher, Ambassador Renwick, Ambassador Crowe,
    Ambassador Smith, to Senator Mitchell, to the people who are here from
    the International Fund for Ireland. Let me say a special word of thanks
    to the Chairman, Willie McCarter, and to my good friend and appointee,
    Jim Lyons. And let me remind all of you that, appropriately enough, the
    band that just entertained us is known as Celtic Thunder. We arranged
    the Irish weather here tonight--[laughter]--to remind you that we are
    all here under a very large tent in more ways than one.

    [At this point, there was a loud clap of thunder, followed by audience
    laughter and applause.]

        If yesterday and today all of us have done what we set out to do,
    then we will all be sharing the same hopes and joining the same work for
    the future of Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. We
    are especially committed to the economic revival of the people who live
    there, all of the people who live there.
        We know that many people will be skeptical about the possibilities
    of peace, and others will be skeptical about the possibilities of
    economic progress. George Bernard Shaw once recognized that skepticism
    about economic matters dies hard, and since he had a foot in Ireland and
    a foot in England, I thought I would remind you of what he said. He
    said, ``If you lined up end to end all the economists in the world, you
    still would not reach a conclusion.'' [Laughter] I think today, even Mr.
    Shaw would share our optimism.
        I hope that this conference stirred your thoughts and your
    imagination for the future, that you have had an opportunity to exchange
    ideas and plans, that you will act on the things that you have thought
    about and dreamed about here. The people who are gathered here have the
    opportunity to make all your ideals real. We in government can make a
    difference in political negotiations as the first bridge between groups
    that history has separated. We can be a catalyst for change. But
    sustained progress will require more. It demands the engagements of all
    the major groups within society, the companies that provide the economic
    lifeblood, the churches, the political parties, the civic associations.
        Already there has been tremendous progress. We can see that in the
    desire for peace that runs throughout Northern Ireland, and let me
    emphasize this, in the work of the 200 community and civic leaders who
    traveled here at their own great expense to advance the cause of
    reconciliation. We thank them especially for being here. These men and
    women are on the frontlines bringing down the barricades, bringing
    together the people of the Shankill and the people of the Falls.
        I want to thank, as well, the Irish-American community, the business
    community, and the nongovernmental organizations. You have risen to the
    task. Now let me say that, as I thank you--is the sound off? That's
    good, because I'm almost through. [Laughter]
        I asked you here tonight mostly to celebrate and not to hear another
    speech. I ask you to remember that the United States is always with you.
        Just behind me here, through the--you can almost see them even
    through the plastic cover--are the two oldest trees at the White House,
    two grand magnolias planted over 165 years ago by Andrew Jackson, the
    son of an immigrant farmer from the

    [[Page 910]]

    Carrickfergus in County Antrim. Every day, I look at those two old trees
    and think about our Nation's past and our Nation's future. Today, I will
    look at them with fresh eyes to think about Ireland's past and Ireland's
    future, the future of the people of Northern Ireland and the people of
    Ireland.
        Thank you all, good luck, God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:19 p.m. on the South Grounds at the White
    House.