17 March 2009

Obama Welcomes Ireland’s Prime Minister to White House

Enduring ties, economic crisis top St. Patrick’s Day agenda

President Obama receives a bowl of shamrocks from Ireland’s Prime Minister Brian Cowen March 17.

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer

Washington — In an enduring American tradition, President Obama welcomed Ireland’s prime minister, Brian Cowen, to the White House for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration honoring close historical ties and shared global challenges facing both nations.

“Rarely in world history has a nation so small had so large an impact on another,” Obama said March 17. “The contributions of the Irish to the American story cannot be overstated. Irish signatures are on our founding documents. Irish blood's been spilled on our battlefields. Irish sweat went into building our greatest cities. We are better for their contributions to our democracy and we are richer for their art and their literature, their poetry and their songs.”

Obama’s meeting with the prime minister, known in Ireland as the taoiseach, kicked off a full schedule of St. Patrick’s Day events, including a luncheon at the Capitol hosted for the Irish leader by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as a reception and dinner at the White House, with entertainment from prominent Irish-American poets and musicians. Even the water in White House fountain was dyed green to mark the day.

Today, more than 40 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to Ireland. Millions turn out for parades celebrating St. Patrick’s Day across the country from New York and Boston to Washington and Chicago, Obama’s hometown. But far more than simply a celebration of all things Irish, St. Patrick’s Day speaks to the immigrant experience for all Americans, and the promise of people arriving from all corners of the world to build a better life for their families.

In addition to the traditional bowl of shamrocks, Cowen also presented the president with documentation regarding Obama’s own Irish ancestry. Fulmouth Kearney, the president’s great-great-great grandfather, immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 more than 160 years ago from County Offaly, Cowen’s home district.

Members of the Sheila Tully School of Irish Dance perform in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago March 17.

“We may be cousins,” joked Obama. “But even if by blood we're not related, by culture and affinity, by friendship and mutual interest, we are certainly related. And this gives us an opportunity to just continue to strengthen the incredible bonds that we have between the two countries.”

The president met with Cowen in the Oval Office for talks on the global economic crisis as Ireland, known as the “Celtic Tiger” for the country’s rapid economic growth in the 1990s, joins the United States in the challenge of strengthening struggling banks and encouraging investment.

The two leaders also discussed a recent series of violent incidents in Northern Ireland, where a group claiming to be a dissident faction of the Irish Republican Army murdered two soldiers and a police officer, leading some observers to fear an unraveling of the U.S.-brokered 1998 Good Friday peace accord.

“Almost 11 years ago, the world watched with wonder as brave men and women found the courage to see past the scars of generations of violence and mistrust and come together around a future of peace. We watched with hope as the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland went to the ballot box and overwhelmingly endorsed such a peaceful future,” Obama said, thanking Cowen for speaking out for peace. “Leaders on both sides have condemned this violence and refrained from the old partisan impulses. They've shown they judge progress by what you build and not what you tear down. And they know that the future is too important to cede to those who are mired in the past.”

Obama met later in the afternoon with Northern Ireland’s first minister, Peter Robinson, and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, to discuss the current situation and to express hope for continued progress. Former Senator George Mitchell, who negotiated the 1998 agreement and now serves as the president’s special envoy for Middle East peace joined Obama for the St. Patrick’s Day event.

Obama also used the opportunity to announce that he would nominate another prominent American of Irish ancestry, Daniel Rooney, as his ambassador to Ireland. Rooney, chairman of the champion Pittsburgh Steelers football team, has been an active voice for peace and political reconciliation in Ireland since the mid-1970s, when he co-founded the American Ireland Fund, an organization that has raised more than $300 million for youth education programs in Ireland.

“I am honored and grateful that such a dedicated and accomplished individual has agreed to serve as the representative of the United States to the Irish people,” Obama said in statement issued earlier in the day. “Dan Rooney is an unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture, and education, and I have every confidence that he and Secretary Clinton will ensure America’s continued close and unique partnership with Ireland in the years ahead.”

A transcript of Obama’s and Cowen’s remarks and the text of Obama’s nomination of Daniel Rooney are available on America.gov.