President Bill Clinton has given the green light to a high-powered American business delegation to visit Northern Ireland in June. The delegation will be led by the US Commerce Secretary, William M. Daley. His office says the delegation's objective is to "re-affirm the US government commitment and support to underpin the peace process through US commercial activity in the region". There is also a raw commercial imperative "to increase sales of US products and services to Northern Ireland, the Border counties of Ireland and the European Union".
Daley is a brother of the present mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, and a son of the legendary mayor, also Richard, who ruled the city for many years. The family originally came from Waterford, though the city on the Suir is not on the delegation's itinerary. It arrives in Belfast on June 8th, travels to Derry on June 10th and to Sligo and other Border counties on June 11th.
Bill Clinton's own travel plans in relation to Ireland are up in the air but he can rejoice in the fact that a Democratic president has won the support of the National Assembly of Irish Republicans (that is, Irish-American supporters of the Republican Party) for his role in the peace process.