SOME aspects of the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington can be open to parody, but there were developments during last week’s events which plainly merited serious discussion.

The big winner, as most commentators have agreed, was Micheál Martin, who had the rare achievement of outmanoeuvring Donald Trump in a setting where all the arrangements are designed to prevent even the mildest dissent over MAGA philosophy.

Although there was a strong case to be made on a range of fronts for Martin avoiding any engagement with Trump, on balance the taoiseach just about had a responsibility to represent Ireland’s interests, and he did so with quiet but unmistakeable confidence, even if he avoided making any reference to the prospect of what we must now presumably describe as an Irish merger referendum.

I can offer some limited insights into the risks and opportunities Martin faced, as, like many other people from Ireland, north and south, I once made the same trip to celebrate the legacy of our patron saint at the White House

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It was March 2003, and the incumbent was George W Bush, whose reputation was decidedly mixed at the time and declined sharply soon afterwards, but who is now regarded by some as almost a benign figure in comparison to Trump.

I was there as the then editor of The Irish News because we had linked up with the News Letter and the US Consulate in Belfast to organise the President’s Prize, recognising those who had made a significant contribution towards the cause of reconciliation.

The winners that year were two exceptional individuals, Ian Bothwell from the Crossfire Trust based at Darkley in Co Armagh, and Liam Maskey of the Intercomm group in north Belfast, with Bush agreeing to personally hand over the accolade in the Oval Office.

There was a slightly inauspicious start to the day, when, after we travelled across Washington separately, I strode confidently through the crowds on Pennsylvania Avenue but was directed by officials to what turned out to be the wrong entrance to the White House.

Holding up my formal documentation, I introduced myself to a friendly uniformed guard, who may have misunderstood my accent, waved me inside and sent me to a large metal gate where the much blunter plain clothes custodian immediately demanded to know if I was with “the service”.

When I respectfully made it clear that that I had no connection with what was plainly the US secret service, and was instead a stray guest from Ireland, he offered a cold stare before escorting me firmly back outside and pointing out an entirely different portal on the other side of the complex.

It has subsequently occurred to me that I might have been treated even less sympathetically in the Trump era.

The security arrangements when I eventually joined the correct queue were surprisingly restrained, given that only 18 months had passed since the 9/11 catastrophes in 2001 which changed America forever.

Of the four hijacked planes hijacked by al-Qaeda, one had crashed into the Pentagon barely three miles away, where 189 perished, with two others striking the World Trade Center in New York City, killing almost 3,000 people.

The fourth aircraft was widely believed to have been destined for the White House itself before passengers with incredible bravery fought with the attackers, bringing it down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with a further 44 fatalities.

Despite this horrific background, the staff in charge of our mid-morning gathering vetted everyone swiftly and professionally before we were brought into the large reception hall.

We were served coffee and biscuits, and, while veterans of the occasion pointed out that Irish whiskey had also been available during the Clinton years, the atmosphere was still relaxed and convivial.

There were plenty of intriguing conversations on the fringes, although it would be difficult to suggest that any of them were transformational, and Bush took the time to speak briefly to all of the Irish visitors, including this one.

Among those attending were Bertie Ahern, David Trimble, Mark Durkan and the recently appointed PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde, but not the Rev Ian Paisley, who, in a neat reversal of the DUP’s present policy robustly opposing White House boycotts, stayed away because of the presence of Gerry Adams.

Bush, in his address, spoke warmly of the major progress made during the Irish peace process, but also made an ominous reference to the need to remove what he claimed were Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Bush, in his address, spoke warmly of the major progress made during the Irish peace process, but also made an ominous reference to the need to remove what he claimed were Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction

One week later, he ordered an air strike on the presidential palace in Baghdad, accompanied immediately by a full-blown invasion, which had massive consequences but never found any WMD, demonstrating to all his successors that wars do not always have the anticipated outcome.

n.doran@irishnews.com

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