As the US presidential election race gets real with Republican and Democrat activists in Iowa indicating their preferred candidate, Niall O'Dowdargues that Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for Irish interests
Senior staffers working for Senator Hillary Clinton were puzzled when their candidate recently insisted on taking a precious day off the presidential campaign trail in Iowa to return to Washington.
She did so to meet with the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness on their American trip, and to emphasise to the two leaders her commitment to Irish issues.
Senior aides say no other foreign dignitaries would have enticed the highly disciplined candidate to forego a day campaigning in the heat of battle for the Democratic nomination. But Northern Ireland and Ireland generally has come to occupy a very central place for the first potential woman president of the United States.
The signal to Irish Americans, and indeed to Ireland, was clear and direct. If she becomes president, Ireland can expect the most committed American leader in history on their issues.
That is no small matter. Generally, an administration starts fresh with no accrued knowledge on foreign policy issues such as Ireland. It would be unheard of to have an occupant who is already skilled on the topic.
That could become very important across a whole range of issues, including economic investment North and South, immigration reform, monitoring the peace process and, perhaps most importantly, giving Ireland an access to the White House almost no other country enjoys.
Clinton has begun increasingly referring to her role in the Irish peace process. Speaking to ABC News recently she stated, "I was deeply involved in the Irish peace process" when asked to explain her foreign policy credentials.
That is actually true. She has visited Ireland seven times, far more than any other destination. On one of their visits to the White House in the waning days of the Clinton administration, Sinn Féin leaders found it was Hillary, not Bill, who conducted the meeting. "She has a very deep knowledge of all the issues involved, is always up to date and is keen to make her contribution," says Martin McGuinness.
Like her husband Bill, who called his first trip to Ireland the "best days of his presidency", Hillary was deeply impacted by the reception they got in Belfast, Derry and Dublin back in late November and early December 1995.
Over one million showed up during the course of the visit in a remarkable display of gratitude for helping bring about the then uneasy peace. The warm feelings were reciprocated. Now that she is running for president, Clinton is putting that success to work. Diplomacy as in Northern Ireland, she stated, "is the lifeblood of good foreign policy".
"This administration has seemed almost allergic to diplomacy," she said, referring to the current occupant of the White House.
On the campaign trail, Clinton has begun using the North as the shorthand example of how she would do things differently.
The long and successful negotiations involving the US provide the perfect contrast for her with the attention-deficit driven foreign policy of President Bush, who rarely spends extended time on any issue.
There is also a financial upside for her in her Irish leanings. The first Irish Americans for Clinton group, which I founded, was formed in 1992 when her husband was running for the White House.
Through the years, buoyed by the success of the Clinton intervention in the peace process, the core group of supporters has grown to include many financial heavyweights. It is estimated that in this current presidential run over $2 million will be raised from Irish American sources alone. That is unparalleled in the history of Irish fundraising for any candidate.
The recent fundraiser in Dublin attended by Bill Clinton, which raised over $300,000, is just one example of this new-found financial clout. Such an event would have been unthinkable for any other candidate.
The event and much of the major fundraising for Clinton is handled by Irish businessman Declan Kelly in New York, while other long-time Irish-born supporters such as Washington-based Stella O'Leary, California-based Bart Murphy and New York hotelier John Fitzpatrick are also at the centre of major fundraising efforts.
The spillover is even evident in Iowa, where over 16 per cent of the population claim Irish roots. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe recently flew in to speak at an Irish event in Winterset, Iowa, not far from the Irish Settlement where thousands of famine Irish made their homes in the latter part of the 19th century.
Clinton staffers identified Dubuque, Iowa as the heart of the Irish Catholic vote and have sought to maximise their impact there. On New Year's Day in Des Moines they campaigned to get out the vote for today's caucuses.
Whether Clinton will be successful, of course, will depend on many other variants yet to be fully deciphered.
However, she sets sail with a crew of powerful Irish Americans and Irish-born firmly on board. If she wins, Ireland and Irish America will be big winners too.
Niall O'Dowd is founding publisher ofIrish Voice newspaper andIrish America magazine.