Joining The President On A Mission Of Peace To Ireland

(At the request of The Queens Courier, Congressman Joseph Crowley kept a diary of his trip last week on which he was invited to accompany President Bill Clinton to Ireland. Here is his account of the historic trip.)
Monday, December 11
My journey began tonight on the steps of the House Chamber at dusk. I was the first to arrive. As I stood in the icy late autumn air, I thought about the unique position in which i found myself. I was at a point in my life where my history, present and future, would all collide in a matter of two days. I thought about my mother, a native of County Armagh and my father, whose parents were from counties Cavan and Louth, and of the soil upon which I would set foot in just a few short hours. I reflected on the history of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and the lives lost in the struggle for peace and justice. I would be traveling to the North of Ireland as a member of Congress with the president of the United States. How did a kid from Queens find himself in such a position? Finally, I thought about the future. What impact will this trip have on the peace process and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement? Many thoughts and possible scenarios streamed through my mind when Congressman Tom Holden joined me on the steps. Soon after, the rest of the Congressional Delegation arrived. It was time to embark on a great adventure.
As I boarded the Special Air Mission at Andrews Air Force Base, a wave of excitement came over me. To say the least, there was not a great deal of sleep for me on that plane.
 
Tuesday, December 12
It isnt often that one gets to experience the sunrise at 30,000 feet, but it was something that was very special to me. As the sun came up over the eastern horizon, it cast a magical glow on the tiny land mass just below. In less than a half-hour, I would be in Ireland. The streets of Dublin were already clogged with rush-hour traffic, and I am sure that the Delegation motorcade didnt make matters much better. It was a good sign of the economic upswing that Ireland has been experiencing, not to mention all the building cranes in downtown Dublin.
After some down time, we made our way to the American ambassadors residence in Phoenix Park. Its just a little more upscale than what I am used to in Woodside or Elmhurst, but I got on just fine. As we waited for the president, the first lady and Chelsea to arrive, we were able to walk around and think of the sights the walls of this residence have seen.
The president and his family made an informal entrance to spontaneous applause from our delegation. Tea and scones were made available to the starving bunch, and in between bites, we were able to have informal conversations with the family. I congratulated the first lady on our recent election to the U.S. Senate as well as her successful effort in bringing about a resolution to the Irish deportee issue. I could tell that she was excited about this trip and how personally committed to the issues of Ireland she has become, especially her work with the women of Ireland. i told her that the presidents adopted fathers people were from Stabbanon in County Louth, where the Clinton family has their ancestral home, which in fact, dates back to the Elizabethan era when the then Clinton family were allowed to retain their property, even though they remained Catholic. It was also the hometown of my grandfather Ned Crowley. The Crowley and Clinton properties abut each other in fact. Mrs. Clinton had me tell the president and he was already aware of it, but I dont think he knew that Dundalk, where he would be speaking to an open air audience later that night, was only about seven or so miles from Stabbanon. He enjoyed that bit of information.
From the ambassadors residence, we made our way to a reception at the Guinness StoreHouse. It seemed at first blush to be another cattle call, but it turned out to be much more. You see, I had my cousin Sean and his wife Joan and my Aunt Mae invited to the event by the Irish Embassy. Unbeknownst to me, they had them five stories up from where the president would be, and the chances of them meeting him were dim. So I went up to see them and told my 83-year-old aunt to follow me. I took her by the hand and led her down the elevators to the ground floor past the Irish police and into the receiving line reception where we were the last in line. The gentleman in charge of the reception came to me and whispered in my ear. "I see you found your aunt, I hope she enjoys her meeting with the president." He stepped back from me and gave me a wink and I obliged him with one as well. As we moved closer, my Aunt Mae asked me how she should address them and I told her not to worry, that I would handle that. As we approached the first couple, I said to them, "Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, I would like you to meet my aunt, Mae Harton from County Cavan."
The president and first lady were very gracious and welcomed her as she then told them that meeting them had made her Christmas. The images of my childhood ran through me. I met my Aunt Mae for the first time in the summer of 1972 when I was ten years old. At that time she and my uncle Barney lived in the same thatched roof house that my grandmother was born in. Now she was shaking the hand of the man who in her mind saved Ireland from more years of bloodshed. Scandal and "dimpled chads" were the last thing on her mind. She saw a redeemer and in no way would she let anything cloud that. After a quick picture with the president, I had to whisk my aunt to the elevator to the fifth floor. I had to stay behind with the delegation. When the elevator operator came back down to take the delegation to our buses, she remarked to me that my aunt was on cloud nine. That alone was worth the price of admission.
From the Guinness StoreHouse, we made our way by motorcade to the town of Dundalk where the president addressed an open-air crowd of more than 60,000 people. It was the largest audience in Market Square since the days of Daniel OConnell, the Great Emancipator. While I sat outside in Courthouse Square awaiting the remarks by President Clinton, I looked up through the trees into the sky, thinking how completely surreal this whole experience had been thus far. I was sitting in Dundalk, only seven miles away from where my grandfather grew up. A small twist of fate could have drastically changed my perspective of this event. I could just as easily have been sitting in the crowd as on the other side of the barricade with the presidents party if Ned Crowley had not immigrated to the United States.
The president was received with thunderous applause from the people of Dundalk, an old city that was originally a Viking settlement that turned into one of the largest cities in this small country. Most recently it had become known as a town that had strong links to the Republican movement, and that was one of the reasons the president chose this city to speak in. It is also a city that has benefited from the "peace dividend" that has been brought about since the cease-fire and one of the strongest economies in Europe. The president reminded the audience that it is they who control whether or not the peace continues. It was a moving speech. It was a goodbye speech, on this his last journey to Ireland as president. And yes, there were tears all around. In their eyes he saved Ireland.
From Market Square, the delegation made its way to a restaurant for some dinner. I sat next to Senator Leahy of Vermont and Congressman Marty Meehan of Massachusetts. We all talked of the presidents address and the hopes that we had to see the peace process move forward. I finished off the evening by singing a song that my father loves, "The Harp That Ounce" by Thomas Moore. I felt it appropriate, and it was warmly received.
We then made our way to Northern Ireland. Unbeknownst to us, there had been thousands of people lining the road to greet the presidential motorcade. There were even a few signs that read "Congressman Joe Crowley Comes From Here." My mother was born just on the other side of the border and her family came from a place called Killeen.
Wednesday, December 13
We finally reached our hotel at 2:30 in the morning, only to be up at 7:15 and on the bus by 8 a.m. for a meeting with young students and Secretary of Education Richard riley on a cooperative project between the U.S. Department of Education and Co-Operation Ireland where young students from across the borders exchange ideas to change the conditions of their lives. They have dealt with subjects that range from improving the environment to drug abuse. it is still a relatively new program, but one that I believe will have a lasting impact on the people of Ireland.
It was then onto a speech by the first lady at the Belfast Opera House where she spoke of the role of the women of Northern Ireland in the peace process. It too was a goodbye speech, at least as first lady. The audience was well aware that they were also listening to the future junior senator from New York, someone that we all have high expectations for and who will continue being a leader on the issue of Northern Ireland.
Finally, we made our way to the presidents address to an audience of 8,000 people at the Odyssey Center. The Center is just one of the many new buildings to be erected in Belfast since the cease-fire was enacted. Prime Minister Tony Blair, First Minister David Trimble, and First Deputy Minister Seamus Mallon introduced the president. He once again used the opportunity to remind the people that it was they who were responsible for the sustained cease-fire and that it was they who have kept the men of violence in check. That so much had been accomplished to let it slip away now.
After leaving the Odyssey Center, we were taken to the Royal Air Force Base in Belfast for our flight home. We had been in Ireland for less than 48 hours, but it felt like we had been there for a week. We had seen and accomplished so much in that short time. In the end, I had witnessed a dream come true. To see a president of the United States of America take the issue of Northern Ireland to new highs and set it on the worlds stage. This president did just that with this unprecedented third visit during his presidency. And when his legacy is written, it is my hope and that of others that the issue of Ireland stands out as a major accomplishment of this administration. Maybe its not so important that it be a part of his legacy, I just have to remember the look in my Aunt Maes eyes to see that it has meant a difference in her life and the lives of her fellow Irishmen and Irishwomen north and south.