Huddled under umbrellas, a small crowd waited in vain for a glimpse of President Bill Clinton's arrival at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Gardai kept the crowds at either the junctions of Harcourt and Cuffe Streets or Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green.
His arrival was delayed by over 40 minutes until 12.35 p.m., leaving a largely international crowd waiting in the rain outside the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. Much to their dismay, he was not visible when he emerged from a limousine to enter the building.
Ms Heike Lasarzewske, from the Black Forest region of Germany, said: "There's no reason to see him, we're only waiting to go into the park."
Aiofe from Galway, who didn't want to give her last name, had strong words for President Clinton. "I think he's getting away with murder. People think he's brilliant, personally, I don't." American air strikes in Sudan and Afghanistan came in for particular criticism. "It happened at the same time as the scandal, I wonder if the whole thing is a fix. It got him off the front pages. It's disgraceful, especially after the Omagh bombing. There was no need for an air strike," she said.
A lone American businessman, protesting against US policies in Arab countries, held aloft a placard saying "American troops out of Persian Gulf now!" Initially identifying himself as "Joe America", Boston-born Ron Bagnulo, who lives in London, said: "This is the only way people can say something because the American media is so bigoted."
Mr Bagnulo was asked to take the sign down by a garda identifying himself as Sgt Joe Keane. "Is it against the law?" he asked. Sgt Keane responded: "Yes, and if you don't take it down we'll take it down for you."
Mrs Pat Corcoran, on holiday from Laguna Beach, California, said: "I think he's a good President and he's trying to aid the peace process in Ireland."