Northern Ireland will not welcome Clinton

DUBLIN - Some have been downright rude about it and some have been respectful, but Irish politicians of all stripes seem to have reached consensus on the idea of a presidential visit here this spring: Clinton, stay home.

With the electorate in the Republic of Ireland and in the British province of Northern Ireland scheduled to vote May 22 on the historic peace plan settled on Good Friday, there has been speculation that President Clinton will visit this misty green island to campaign for approval of the plan.

But as the political situation surrounding the peace referendums grows clearer, key political leaders both in Northern Ireland and here in the Republic now are saying publicly that a Clinton visit would not be welcome.

David Trimble, the most popular politician in the Northern Ireland "unionist" camp - that is, those residents who want to maintain the province's union with Britain - expressed that view this weekend. "Of course the president will be welcome," Trimble said, "but for the moment, our advice would be that he not come before the referendum. I would not want people here to feel they are being dictated to by some foreign power."

The same view seems to prevail in the opposite political camp - that is, among the "nationalists," those who want to see Northern Ireland form a single nation with the Republic, and end the northern counties' tie to Britain.

"Personally, I think Clinton has been nothing but positive so far in what he's done on the Irish question," said Joe Reilly, a local Sinn Fein party leader in Ireland's County Meath. "But a lot of people will wonder why an American is suddenly campaigning in an Irish election, so I think perhaps he'd best stay away."

By virtue of the office, any American president is an important figure in Ireland. Virtually every Irish family has relatives who have settled in the New World. In fact, 44 million Americans claim Irish descent; that's about nine times as many Irish people as there are on the whole island of Ireland.

Clinton's clout may be particularly strong because he is regarded here as a president who has been even-handed on the issue.

He is likely to get the same message next week from Paul Quinn, a Washington lawyer active in Irish-American affairs, who traveled to Ireland, north and south, last week. "It's a somewhat delicate issue, because people here like the president," Quinn said. "But the general consensus is that he should not come."

The interesting point here is that those urging Clinton to stay away include many leaders who agree with him on the basic question: That is, they hope to see the peace agreement approved in May. But since the political momentum now indicates strong approval among the electorate, local leaders don't want to upset their apple cart by bringing in an outsider.

Not surprisingly, Irish politicians who oppose the peace plan also have urged Clinton to stay away. "We don't need any outsiders coming here to advocate something that will mean the destruction of our country," said the Rev. Ian Paisley, a fiery unionist who is battling to defeat the peace plan.

04-20-98