About 700 members of the Irish-American community are expected to be invited to the White House on September 11th to greet President Clinton after his return from Ireland.
The event will be seen as making up for some disappointment that there will be no official Irish-American delegation accompanying Mr and Mrs Clinton on their trip to Belfast, Armagh, Dublin and Limerick between September 3rd and 5th.
The White House event is planned for the open air on the South Lawn and will last about an hour. Mr Clinton will be presented with the Paul O'Dwyer Peace and Justice Award by Mr O'Dwyer's son, Brian. Mr O'Dwyer, who was a distinguished campaigner for human rights in Ireland and the US, died last June in New York after a long career.
Mr Brian O'Dwyer told The Irish Times yesterday he had received confirmation from the White House that the event planned for September 11th was now going ahead.
He said it would be both a celebration of the Irish-American community's role in the Northern Ireland peace process and an acknowledgment by the community of Mr Clinton's role.
Vice-President Al Gore is also expected to be present, as well as former senator George Mitchell and leading Irish-American politicians such as Senators Edward Kennedy and Chris Dodd.
Further details of the President's visit to Ireland have now been learned. He will fly to Belfast from Russia on the morning of Thursday, September 3rd, and meet leading politicians as well as giving an address at the Waterfront Hall.
In the afternoon, after meeting community leaders, he will travel to Armagh, where a reconciliation event involving church leaders is planned. He will arrive in Dublin that evening.
Friday will be spent in Dublin and will include a meeting with the Taoiseach and other political leaders. On Saturday there will be a large public event in Limerick after which Mr Clinton will play golf in Ballybunion.
He will probably return to Washington later on Saturday.