Self-help philosophy is Ron Brown's Irish memorial

IN December 1994, on his first visit to Ireland as US Commerce Secretary, Ron Brown preached a message about US economic support for the peace process which was to become familiar. "Let me assure you that our support is firmly rooted in pragmatic economic policy", he said. "American investment that supports peace in Northern Ireland and growth in the Republic also creates jobs in the US."

It was the only way the Clinton administration could "sell" economic support for the Irish peace process back home. Constantly facing political threats to its cash contribution to the International Fund for Ireland, the administration's support for the peace process had to be a "win win situation for both sides. Hand outs were simply not an option.

It was the same message that Ron Brown was bringing to Croatia and Bosnia this week. He was accompanied by Assistant Commerce Secretary Chuck Meissner, who had done the groundwork on Irish US economic co-operation.

Ron Brown made a strong impression on his two Irish visits he looked every inch the powerful senior political figure he was, and spoke directly and often engagingly. His background as one of the leading black Americans appeared to give him some insights.

He privately told Irish ministers at the end of the Washington conference that if they thought they had problems in Ireland, his ancestors had come to America in chains.

While President Clinton made a considerably personal commitment, Ron Brown was the key political figure in developing the package and winning support for it in the US. His high standing among US business leaders, many of whom accompanied him to Ireland, was crucial.

Chuck Meissner was responsible for developing and implementing the strategy. He was the key contact for Irish officials involved in brokering US Irish business links. He had also discussed with private US investors the prospect of setting up a fund to invest in Irish business a small prototype version is due to be launched this year. He had personally led missions of US business people to Ireland in an attempt to broker joint ventures and encourage investment.

The US package of economic support for the peace process has been, in many ways, a curious mixture. It was an open secret in the run up to last May's investment conference in Washington that the administration was having trouble coming up with "deliverables" political goodies to grab the headlines.

It did not really matter, however. In the words of one US official, the Clinton administration "hired the dance hall" and left the participants to get on with it. The political commitment of President Clinton and his cabinet then carried the show.

The agenda of economic co-operation has, to borrow a phrase, moved on two tracks in the meantime. One has been the negotiations between the two governments to come up with new mechanisms to encourage US and Irish firms to co-operate and to boost direct US financial and industrial investment into Europe. The other track has been private business getting on with it. Last year was a record one for direct private US investment into Ireland, while joint ventures and technology agreements were slowly getting off the ground.

Measuring the precise impact of the Clinton administration's economic support is impossible. After all, Ireland, and particularly the Republic, has always been a favoured location for US investment, no matter what administration was in power. But the economic value of the political commitment of the administration, personified by Ron Brown, should not be under estimated the danger posed by the breakdown of the ceasefire and the difficulty in moving towards talks is that this will now be invested elsewhere.

It was part of the philosophy preached by Ron Brown that to benefit from outside assistance, an area first had to help itself. That is his memorial in Ireland.