US SECRETARY of state Hillary Clinton has said the friendship between Ireland and the United States was “vital” to both and would deepen under the new US ambassador to Ireland.
Mrs Clinton was speaking in Washington DC yesterday at the swearing in ceremony of new ambassador Daniel Rooney .
“We are sending you one of our best” Mrs Clinton said. “There is no greater champion of Irish-American relations than Dan Rooney. The new ambassador was assuming his post “at a crucial time”, she said.
Daniel Rooney is a prominent Irish-American businessman, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football team and co-founder of the American-Ireland Fund. He is taking over from Thomas C Foley.
During a visit to Ireland in the early 1970s, Mr Rooney “saw for himself the destructive effects of deprivation and division, he founded the American-Ireland Fund,” she said. The Ireland funds operate in 11 countries “uniting people of Irish descent to further progress in their ancestral homeland,” Mrs Clinton said.
Mr Rooney is due to arrive in Dublin today and is expected to present his credentials to President Mary McAleese tomorrow before assuming his duties.
Mrs Clinton said Ireland and the US would would continue to emphasise the peace process in Northern Ireland. The countries are connected by “political, economic, cultural, and certainly familial ties” and share a “a deep and rich history” Mrs Clinton said. “We are so grateful to the Irish immigrants who sweated and sacrificed to build this country and who broke down barriers at every level of society.”