THE Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, and other unionist and loyalist political figures could find themselves enjoying President Clinton's hospitality at the White House next week while Mr Gerry Adams is kept out.
This is the prospect facing the Sinn Fein leader during St Patrick's week celebrations in Washington.
The end of the IRA ceasefire is causing many of Mr Adams's erstwhile political allies including Senator Edward Kennedy to close doors formerly open to him.
President Clinton gave Mr Adams a new visa two weeks ago but ruled that he could not come to the White House. This automatically excludes him from a reception for 550 people in the White House on Friday to honour the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, and Mrs Finola Bruton.
The guest list is believed to include all Northern Ireland party leaders. Mr Trimble is to decide today whether he will come to Washington next week and attend the reception, according to a spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party in Washington.
The US National Security Adviser, Mr Anthony Lake, has also invited Mr Trimble to meet him in the White House for talks next week.
In line with the British and Irish governments' decision to end high level contact with Sinn Fein while politicians are also shunning Mr Adams.
Senator Edward Kennedy, who backed the first Adams visa in 1994, will not he meeting the Sinn Fein leader. Said a spokes person "If the ceasefire is restored before Gerry Adams comes to town, I'm sure Senator Kennedy will see Gerry Adams."
Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Democratic Party, will, however, meet the Sinn Fein leader next week, a spokesman said.
The prospect of Mr Adams attending the prestigious St Patrick's week dinner of the American Ireland Fund, whose chairman is Dr Tony O'Reilly has caused something of a diplomatic flurry in Washington.
The Taoiseach, the Ulster Party leader, the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, and several prominent political, diplomatic and cultural figures are due to attend the dinner in the US capital on Thursday evening.
"At the moment there are no plans to change the Taoiseach's scheduled attendance," said an Irish Embassy spokesman when asked if Mr Bruton would attend a function with Mr Adams in attendance.
Mr Trimble has ruled out going to the dinner, being held in the National Building Museum, if Mr Adams is a guest.
The Sinn Fein leader was invited to the black tie event by at least two groups who have purchased tables, his US publishers, Roberts Rinehart, and the Dunfey Brother of New England.
This means that the embarrassed hosts of the event, faced with the prospect that Mr Adams's attendance will mean other guess staying away, cannot "disinvite" him if they wanted to.
Neither President Clinton nor the US Vice President, Mr Al Gore, are scheduled to attend the dinner. However, other senior administration officials are invited and may not come if Mr Adams is present, sources said.
Exasperation over the IRA's refusal to restore the ceasefire is widespread among Irish Americans and some of it is rubbing off on Mr Adams. He is likely to find the atmosphere in Washington much less friendly than before the end of the ceasefire.
One prominent Congressman said "They've got their date for talks and they have the American administration guaranteeing that. They'll not get such a chance again."
The dinner will honour Congressman Ben Gilman, the Republican co chairman of the Congress Ad-Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs, who will be meeting Mr Adams on Capitol Hill when he is in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday.
A strong supporter of Irish nationalist causes, Mr Gilman would he opposed to any moves to bar Mr Adams from the dinner.