Sir, - Despite the Celtic Tiger, the Irish have not yet shaken off a colonial dependency on a foreign benefactor. Hence the almost funereal atmosphere in the Irish media at the change of government in the United States. Because Bill Clinton made three visits to Ireland during his presidency and involved his administration in the still-incomplete settlement in Northern Ireland, he had come to take the place in the Irish consciousness of other "kings from over the water" who were to solve Ireland's problems.
In all the appraisals of the Clinton contribution to Ireland, few have noted that during his administration an Irish political party with close links to an armed organisation existing in contradiction to the Irish Constitution has been able to collect considerable funds in the United States, greatly exceeding foreign contributions to other more constitutional political parties. - Yours, etc.,
John P. McCarthy, Professor of History, Director, Institute of Irish Studies, Fordham University, New York, USA.