Earlier this month, I travelled to Dublin and the wonderful venue of the Royal Irish Academy to participate in a conference on the US role in peace-making in Ireland, North and South.  I was also one of the co-organisers of the event, along with Prof. Mary Murphy (Director of the Irish Institute, Boston College), and Niall Ó Dochartaigh (Professor of Political Science at the University of Galway). Prof.  Murphy and I are former Fulbright Scholars, and Prof. Ó Dochartaigh is a current Fulbrighter, so it is quite fitting that we had created a forum to explore the vital part played by the US in building peace on the island of Ireland.  In addition, the event celebrated a century of diplomatic ties between independent Ireland and the US.

The idea for the conference originally began as a collaboration between the three former Queen's Colleges in Ireland – the University of Galway, Queen's University Belfast, and University College Cork – but was later extended to include the Irish Institute at Boston College.  As well as reflecting on the US role in the Northern Ireland peace process, the event involved discussion of contemporary relations between the US and Ireland, particularly in light of the upcoming presidential election in the former.

The day began with a video recording of a welcome address from Senator George J. Mitchell.  Senator Mitchell briefly reflected on his role as chair of the talks process that led to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA) of 1998, but also noted his personal connections to Ireland, his paternal grandparents having emigrated to the US in the 19^th century.  This undoubtedly contributed to his unwavering determination to succeed in his role as chair of the Northern Ireland peace talks, an effort for which all peoples of this island owe the Senator great thanks. 

Following this highly appropriate introduction to the day’s proceedings, I conducted an interview with the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, another central figure in the achievement of the B/GFA.  As well as discussing his part in this breakthrough, the conversation reflected on the importance of economic linkages between the US and both parts of Ireland.  The relationship between peace and prosperity became a leitmotif during Ahern’s premiership, the economic opportunities that emerged with the B/GFA stimulating development on both sides of the border and growing economic interaction between the North and South.  This, in turn, reinforced the move towards a lasting peace, providing added incentive for continued compromise through the challenging implementation of the B/GFA in the 2000s.  In this, a virtuous circle was created: peace encouraged greater economic progress, and greater economic progress helped to secure the peace achieved.

US investment across the island was a key driver of this process, but Ahern also reflected on the economic challenges ahead for Ireland.  Whatever the outcome of next month’s presidential election, demographic change in the US means it is unlikely that another Irish-American will reside in the White House anytime soon.  John Hume, another key figure in the peace process, often noted that Ireland’s main export was its people, but the success of this process, and economic transformation of the island, mean that we are long past this point.  The Irish, from both traditions here, were once a force in US politics, but Biden might be the last President who celebrates this link with such gusto.  Politicians and diplomats from both parts of the island will thus need to rethink how they approach relations to a country which has changed enormously but continues to be of crucial importance.

Biden’s crucial support for peace in Ireland – reinforced by his own heritage – was a constant theme of the conference, and indeed was the focus for Prof. Murphy’s contribution to the conference in the next panel.  She expertly explained the role of the Biden administration in helping to protect the B/GFA through the challenges of the Brexit process.  Before her, Prof. Ó Dochartaigh spoke about early US responses to the Northern Ireland conflict, particularly in the civil rights era.  Linking his comments with Prof. Murphy’s, I also presented a paper which emphasised the importance of bi-partisan support for the Northern Ireland peace process, noting Ronald Reagan’s role in the precursory Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and George W. Bush’s part in the implementation of the B/GFA.

The unquestionable importance of the Clinton administration for Northern Ireland was discussed in the next panel, which moved from the perspective of academics to that of practitioners.  And a crucial figure in the Clinton White House provided an insider perspective.  Before being appointed US Ambassador to the UN in 1997, Nancy Soderberg was Deputy National Security Advisor to Clinton. However, having worked in Ted Kennedy’s office before she joined Clinton’s staff, Soderberg brought expertise on Northern Ireland that would prove crucial in guiding the administration through its interventions in the region.  She detailed her vital role in the decision to give Gerry Adams a temporary US visa in 1994 – a decision that provoked significant controversy but was arguably vindicated when the IRA then called a ceasefire.  Soderberg also recalled Clinton’s visit to Northern Ireland the following year, the first of a serving US president, and a move which further energised the peace process.

Also speaking alongside Soderberg were Ciarán Madden, the Irish government’s Northern Ireland Political and Legacy Director, and a former Consul General in New York, plus Lynsey Moore, Director of the Europe Strategy Division and International Relations for the Northern Ireland Executive Office.  Also joining the panel online from Brussels was Brian Glynn, who serves there as Managing Director for the Americas in the European External Action Service and is a former Director of the Americas Unit in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.  Together these participants discussed the crucial nexus between EU and US relations for both parts of Ireland, with Ms. Moore in particular stressing the economic opportunities available to Northern Ireland as, post-Brexit, the only region in the world that has full access to both the EU and UK markets.  This is of obvious importance for US investors, and the role of Joseph Kennedy III as Washington’s Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs was also discussed.  Kennedy’s work shows the continued importance of the US in supporting the Northern Ireland peace process through economic development, and Ms. Moore also stressed the benefits of the recent restoration of power-sharing at Stormont in aiding such efforts.  In addition, Mr Madden and Mr Glynn provided insight to the Irish government’s and the EU’s continued interest in this process and the stability of the political institutions here post-Brexit.

The final contribution to the conference came from Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.  He provided a keynote lecture which drew together many of the discussions and themes of the day.  In keeping with his expertise, Prof. O’Leary stressed the importance of ethnic group identity in terms of explaining the US government’s role in the Northern Ireland peace process, the lobbying of Irish America being crucial to this.  He also reflected on the relative decline of US citizens identifying as Irish, reiterating the point made by various speakers during the conference regarding the challenges that this creates for the future of trans-Atlantic relations.  However, Prof. O’Leary’s lecture ended on a positive note in stressing the continued influence of Irish-Americans in important institutions in the US, including the higher education sector – noting himself and Prof. Murphy as examples as Irish-born academics now in leading roles in American universities.  This influence, Prof. O’Leary stated, and the continued investment of political actors from both parts of Ireland in developing strong relationships in the US, provides a means through which the trans-Atlantic partnership can continue to flourish in the 21^st century.

 

Dr Peter McLoughlin

Dr McLoughlin is a Mitchell Institute Fellow (Legacy) who works in the broad field of contemporary political history in Ireland, with a particular focus on the Northern Ireland problem and peace process. He is currently completing a book on the role of Irish America and the US government in Northern Ireland.