The family of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney may be invited to meet President George Bush at the St Patrick's Day reception in the White House, it emerged tonight.
Mr McCartney's sisters, who have been waging a determined campaign to bring his killers to justice, have been in contact with US Government representatives over the past few days.
The 33-year-old father of two from the nationalist Short Strand was stabbed to death after a row in a city centre pub on January 30th. His family have blamed the murder on republicans and the subsequent backlash has forced the IRA to expel three of its members and Sinn Féin to suspend seven representatives.
His sister Paula said they would use the White House invite to help get justice for Robert. "We haven't had the confirmation yet but we believe there is a very strong possibility and we welcome it and will use it to our advantage.
"Our message will be to highlight the murder of our brother Robert. We will be asking him to support us in our campaign for justice," she added.
With the US administration angry at the failure of Northern Ireland politicians to secure a deal to restore devolution, political representatives have not been invited to this year's celebrations.
It is understood the President was reluctant to meet Sinn Féin leaders after allegations of republican involvement in recent crimes including the #26.5 million Northern Bank raid.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet President Bush as usual to celebrate Irish-American ties.
A US Government spokesman said: "This year we will also pay tribute to civic society representatives doing the hard work of reconciliation and intercommunity dialogue in Northern Ireland.
"This year political party representatives are not included. We were disappointed in December by the inability of the Northern Ireland political parties to conclude a deal.
"The US remains committed to reinvigorating the process. We believe that conclusion of a comprehensive settlement will require the parties to make hard decisions."