The latitude allowed to representatives of Ireland to press the flesh and have the undivided attention of the elite of US society is of incalculable value, writes LARA MARLOWEWashington Correspondent
THIS YEAR’S celebration of Irish-American friendship takes place in a more serene mood for Irish participants.
Last year, the shock of the economic crisis was still fresh. Ireland has since ratified the Lisbon Treaty, created Nama, and passed the 2010 budget.
The March 9th vote on devolution in the Northern Ireland Assembly was particularly welcome. “It was time to do the deal,” says a source on Capitol Hill. “It would have been difficult for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to come here and celebrate if it hadn’t passed.”
Tens of millions of Americans claim Irish descent, but the effusion of annual celebrations at the highest levels of US government remains a source of wonder.
“You couldn’t calculate what this is worth to us as a country,” says Ambassador Michael Collins. “It’s precious. We certainly don’t take it for granted. We work on it intensively.”
The Taoiseach will focus on the economy, as shown by the lunch he’s hosting today for his Economic Advisory Board – comprised of Irish people who’ve succeeded in US business – and the Global Irish Network he established last autumn at Farmleigh.
Tomorrow, the Taoiseach will discuss the economy in meetings with president Barack Obama and vice-president Joe Biden, and at lunch on Capitol Hill. With 100,000 Irish jobs dependent on US investment, and 80,000 US jobs generated by Irish investment, the performance of each economy clearly affects the other.
The Taoiseach is also likely to raise the plight of tens of thousands of undocumented Irish in the US, though there is little hope of immigration reform this year.
Mr Biden, the first Irish-American, Catholic US vice-president, has invited the Taoiseach and his wife Mary to breakfast at his official residence in the Naval Observatory tomorrow, after which the Taoiseach will call on Mr Obama at the White House.
As the US administration’s envoy for Northern Ireland, secretary of state Hillary Clinton will play a key role in the St Patrick’s Day festivities. Ms Clinton made numerous phone calls to party leaders in the North to encourage them to vote for devolution. This morning she meets Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, followed, in succession, by Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, and First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, in tandem.
This evening, Mrs Clinton will be the guest of honour at the American Ireland Fund dinner. She will meet the Taoiseach prior to the dinner, and will attend his meeting with Mr Obama tomorrow morning, as well as the White House meeting between national security adviser Gen Jim Jones, and Messrs Robinson and McGuinness.
The speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, will host the Taoiseach, Mr Obama and close to 90 other guests for a pageantry-filled lunch on Capitol Hill – despite the fact she’s in the midst of the greatest challenge of her career, marshalling enough votes to pass healthcare reform this week.
Ms Pelosi’s son-in-law has roots in Co Wicklow, and her grandchildren have Irish names.
Frankie Gavin’s Irish folk music group De Dannan will perform at Ms Pelosi’s lunch, and again at the Irish Ambassador’s reception this evening. About 20 per cent of the Ambassador’s more than 600 guests are from Northern Ireland.
The White House reception in honour of the Taoiseach and his wife will be the glittering culmination of the day’s events, with speeches by the president, vice-president and the Taoiseach, and with the Shamrock Ceremony in the East Room.
Keltic Dreams, a multi-racial dance troupe from the Bronx, and the Washington Pipe Band will perform.
Sports and the arts are well represented among Irish guests, who include golfer Padraig Harrington, boxer Katie Taylor, theatre director Garry Hynes, writer Colm Tóibín and actor Gabriel Byrne.