The Irish peace process generated many unexpected developments. Among the most surprising was the fact that a US President took such a strong personal, as distinct from purely political, interest in the Northern Ireland situation. Given the strength of the Irish-American lobby it was inevitable that whoever occupied the White House would at least make the right noises but, in Bill Clinton's case, it went a lot deeper.
A senior Washington journalist expressed astonishment that six counties of a small island were receiving so much White House attention: "What is this - social worker foreign policy?" It is believed the President started to take the issue to heart after his successful visit here in 1995 which, he later told friends, was the best few days of his life. Reflecting on the warmth which developed between Clinton and the Irish crowds, North and South, an Irish-American writer said it was a case of "a needy man meeting a needy people".
John Hume, Tony Blair and others have paid tribute to the sheer volume of work that Clinton put in on the North. At times of crisis, especially when the Good Friday negotiations were in their final stages, he "worked the phones" through the night, using the aura of his office and his own powers of persuasion to help bring the parties together.
That was then; this is now. Bill Clinton is on the last mile of his presidency, although another visit to Ireland before the end of the year is expected. Once out of office he may well become an international citizen-peacemaker a la Jimmy Carter but his phonecalls will no longer make recalcitrant Northern politicians sit up as they did when he had the prestige of the White House behind them.
At time of writing it is unclear whether George Bush or Al Gore will be the next president. Some observers are inclined to say that it doesn't matter greatly because Ireland will slide down the scale in either case. The first test for the new incumbent may come if there is a major crisis in the peace process in the New Year. Will George or Al make the calls to Trimble, Adams, Mallon and Mandelson that could have been expected from Bill Clinton? Al Gore has already been involved in the peace process in his role as Vice-President, although a senior Irish politician told me he had "no feel for Ireland". In 1997 Gore hosted the Irish party at the White House when Clinton was out of action due to a knee injury. The Women's Coalition spokeswoman, Monica McWilliams showed him a large stone which had been thrown at herself and others by loyalists during the infamous protest against Massgoers outside Harryville church in Ballymena. "He was appalled," she said.
In February last year, the Irish Ambassador to the US, Sean O hUiginn, paid a visit to the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Texas, to meet George Bush. The meeting, which took place shortly before the Governor formally declared his candidacy, lasted about 90 minutes. Iveagh House sources said there was "a very good discussion" and that Bush clearly considered it essential to become familiar with Irish issues. In the long term, the election of Hillary Rodham Clinton as junior senator for New York may prove more important for Ireland, north and south. Hillary Clinton has been to Northern Ireland five times and her interest in the subject seems at least as strong as her husband's. Other politicians with an interest in Irish issues, such as Ben Gillman, Peter King and Jim Walsh from the Republican Party and Democrats like Richie Neal and Joe Crowley held on to their seats in the Congressional elections: the one high-profile loser was Congressman Sam Gejdensen of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.
The Government will be working to ensure that Ireland keeps its place in the sun on the US political scene. In an interview with Newsweek, published the day before the presidential vote, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, strongly urged Clinton's successor, "whoever it may be", to follow his example on the North, although he conceded that "whether one will ever get someone with the same sense of personal conviction on this issue again remains to be seen."
Truly can it be said that we have lost our only playboy of the Western World.