"This magnificent new hotel will, I am sure, help to bring American visitors to Ireland and Adare, one of the tidiest and prettiest villages in the country."
Little did Mr Charles Haughey know how prophetic his after-dinner words could be 10 years ago to the day when he formally opened the Adare Manor Hotel.
Once the private estate of the Earls of Dunraven, Adare Manor, a neo-Tudor fantasy, is set in 840 acres of sweeping parkland and gardens on the banks of the Maigue River.
Work on the present house began in 1832 on the site of a dwelling built 100 years earlier.
In 1987, the castle was purchased by a New Jersey investment banker, Mr Tom Kane, and his wife, Judy, who had always dreamed of owning a grand Irish home. They restored and converted it into a luxury resort hotel without losing the character of the grounds and architectural charm of the building. A new wing with an additional 36 rooms and suites was added, making a total of 64 rooms.
The legendary golf-course designer, Mr Robert Trent-Jones, a neighbour of the Kanes in New Jersey, designed a world-class 18hole championship course taking into account the natural beauty of the surroundings. Seven of the holes have been traced through the woods with their 200-year-old oaks to match the Augusta cathedral-like atmosphere of peace.
The first glimpse that President Clinton had last night of the two main facades of the manor as the motor cavalcade swung left up the driveway was the floodlit elaborate twisted Tudor chimneys, the battlemented tower and the oriel and mullioned windows.
The White House staff did not indicate which of the five luxurious suites was occupied by the Clintons. Mr Stephen Quinn, the general manager, told The Irish Times that they would be given their choice and all of them were located in the old wing.
The suites include an extremely large bedroom-cum-sitting room with spacious bathroom and dressing rooms. They overlook the beautiful box gardens on the south aspect of the house, which were the work of Lady Eva Wyndham Quin, great grand-aunt of the present Earl of Dunraven (49), who now lives with his wife on the other side of the main Limerick road.
The party will also have had a full view of the winding River Maigue and the ninth and 18th greens of the golf course. The normal charge for these suites is from £220 to £350 a night but the US State Department will be paying in dollars.
Mr Quinn is no stranger to playing host to US presidents. This young Galway man was assistant manager at the Carlyle Hotel in New York, where President Kennedy had stayed. At Adare, his guests have included the then President Reagan and the former president Mr Jimmy Carter, as well as the late prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
For President Clinton's visit, the full complement of staff of 150 was on duty. The head chef, Mr Gerard Costello, was a member of the Irish team of chefs which came second in the world banqueting competition in Toronto this year. He saw no problem with the choice of menu.
For the main course there was fresh salmon from the River Maigue, Adare lamb or fillet of mignon steak - as favoured by many Americans - with fresh vegetables from the hotel's garden.
The kitchen, we are told, can match the conceit of the 160-year-old biblical inscription in stone on the balustrade of the building: "Except the Lord built the house, their labour is but lost that built it."