[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 12 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Pages 577-578]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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. 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. This 
item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.

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