Tuesday-Friday, 15-18 March, 2005
White House shamrock 'snub'
Back to reality? - Talks planned after White House shamrock 'snub'
By Irish Republican News
US President George Bush has broken with tradition in presenting the traditional bowl of shamrock to 26-County Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on St Patrick's Day in the absence of other Irish political leaders.
The low-key ceremony at the White House was intended as a signal of the US administration's dismay at the failure to advance the peace process in Ireland.
But Bush pledged to help the Irish people move toward a lasting agreement. "As you work for peace, our government and the American people will stand with you," he said.
Mr Bush spoke of the ties between the US and Ireland.
"When terrorists struck our nation, the Irish were well-represented among the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed their lives to save others at the World Trade Centre.
"In a great Irish tradition, Marines preparing to retake the city of Fallujah prepared for battle to the strains of Lt Colonel Paul Sweeney's bagpipes echoing across the Iraqi plains."
Later, Mr Bush met the McCartney sisters, who are campaigning for justice for their brother who was murdered in Belfast. He said the women have "committed themselves to a peaceful solution, and hopefully their loved one will not have died in vain".
Mr Ahern said the Good Friday Agreement had improved the political landscape in the North, but more work needed to be done to achieve lasting peace.
"Recent events have damaged confidence, but they have also crystallised what must now be done to finalise the process and achieve stable partnership governments in Northern Ireland," Mr Ahern said.
Speaking in Washington, Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams said he was disappointed the other parties had not been invited to the White House, but he did not interpret this as a movement away from the peace process by the administration.
Speaking at a breakfast event at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr Adams said Sinn Fein wanted to bring an end to the IRA and would succeed.
He admitted this was a defining moment for the peace process.
"In any ball game you don't have possession of the ball for the whole game," he said. "We have lost the ball but we intend to get it back."
Even though President Bill Clinton "ran a better gig", there was a symbolic importance of Irish leaders being at White House receptions. But the peace process would not be worked out in the White House or in the Foreign Relations Committee or anywhere else except back on the island of Ireland, he added.
Mr Adams was hosted by Richard Haass, president of the council and former special envoy to Ireland, and was joined at the top table by former ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith.
The event had one of the biggest attendances in its history amid intense media interest, according to Sinn Fein's spokesperson in Washington DC Rita O'Hare. Later Mr Adams attended the America-Ireland Fund Dinner.
Earlier, Mr Adams met with the Mayor of Philadelphia and attended two events in Pennsylvania, and today was due to travel to Ohio.
The Sinn Fein President warned the work of the peace process will inevitably have to continue back in Ireland after the current political storms have passed.
In an indication that some of the political theatre of recent weeks is drawing to a close, the 26-County Taoiseach Bertie Ahern met with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams for almost an hour on Wednesday night in advance of further talks on their return to Ireland.
Mr Adams said: "The peace process is in serious difficulties at this time and I welcome the opportunity to meet the Taoiseach and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.
"It was a useful meeting and an opportunity to focus on how we can collectively resolve the outstanding issues," he said.