US: The president of the National Assembly of Irish American Republicans, Ms Susan Davis, yesterday told the Republican convention in New York that President George Bush was committed to supporting successful negotiations to implement the Good Friday agreement this autumn.
Ms Davis thanked Mr Bush from the podium for "appointing two exceptional envoys to Ireland and for travelling to Belfast to support full implementation of the Good Friday agreement".
She also paid tribute to Mr Bush for creating "historic trade opportunities" and the expansion of US-Irish partnerships and joint research "that will benefit Irish and Americans alike".
The Republican party was committed to peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland, said Ms Davis.
"The ties between Ireland and America are strong and vibrant. Like millions of Irish Americans we declare our support for he re-election of George W. Bush. "When we started this effort 10 years ago everyone said the Republican Party never cared about Northern Ireland or Irish Americans," said NAIAR founder Rear Admiral Jim Carey.
The Republican platform was "much stronger and supportive on the issues important to Irish Americans than the Democratic platform".
Tomorrow Irish American Republicans will host a convention party, Blarney Bash II, on board a tall ship at the South Street Seaport, to honour the 52 members of Congress, nine US senators and 12 US governors who are Irish American Republicans.