The President, Mrs McAleese, yesterday expressed her belief that unionists in Northern Ireland "sceptical" about the peace process would eventually support it.
Mrs McAleese was speaking in Baltimore, Maryland, on her tour of the US. She was granted honorary citizenship of the city by its Irish-American mayor, Mr Martin O'Malley.
"I know these people [Unionists] well. I know they are not against peace," said Mrs McAleese. "I don't see the No people as against peace. They are sceptical about the vehicle that is going to deliver peace and I understand that scepticism.
"When it starts to deliver, I believe they will come around. They are good people, decent people. They're just scared."
Personally, she had been "overwhelmed" when she heard the IRA announcement of willingness to put arms beyond use.
"I realised it was a path capable of taking us into a new future," she said.
Today Mrs McAleese meets the leadership of the US Senate and will travel to Philadelphia for the last day of her visit.