Senator Edward Kennedy has warned that failure in the present Northern Ireland peace talks "would be devastating" as he presented the Irish-American Peace Prize to the publisher Mr Niall O'Dowd for his contribution to the process
Senator Kennedy said last night that "everyone should approach these talks with a view to giving as much as they can, rather than giving as little as they think they can get away with". He said that "taking full advantage of this unique opportunity can bring lasting peace to the island of Ireland and a genuine place in history for all those who make it happen."
Failure to grasp this opportunity would be devastating, "and history and the people of Ireland will surely, and harshly, hold responsible those who allow it to fail".
Senator Kennedy said that the British and Irish governments must do all in their power to assure the success of the peace process, and so must the United States.
"Above all, we must vigorously oppose anyone, on any side, who for any reason resorts to violence. And we must equally oppose those whose intransigence is cynically designed to make the process fail.
"The highest duty of all true Irish patriots is to pursue the path of peace, and never again the path of the bomb and the bullet."
He said that Mr O'Dowd, publisher of the Irish Voice and Irish America magazine, was "truly an Irish-American for all seasons". He was an effective force for peace "and it is a special honour for me to present him with the first Irish-American peace prize".
Recalling Mr O'Dowd's role in working "skilfully and tirelessly to make the IRA ceasefire possible" in 1994, the senator said that he was "a man of unusual dedication and ability who has brought the dream of peace closer for all the people of the island of Ireland and for all of us in America who love and care so deeply about the island of our ancestors".
The prize of Galway crystal was presented at a dinner organised by Irish-Americans for a Democratic Victory. The large attendance included the Education Secretary, Mr Richard Riley, Senators Chris Dodd, Patrick Leahy and Jack Reed, and Congress members Joe and Patrick Kennedy. Mr O'Dowd's family, including his wife, Debbie, mother, Kathleen, sister, Orla, and brother, Senator Fergus O'Dowd from Drogheda, were also present.