Hillary Clinton spotlights Irish history
Clinton gave an impassioned speech Monday in New York about her role in the 1990s Irish Peace Process, highlighting the importance of women in efforts stop fighting between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Clinton's exclusive use of a private email server -- a story that has shrouded the former secretary of state for the last two weeks -- went unmentioned at the jovial event where guests toasted with pints of Guinness.
Clinton sat at the event's head table along with John Fitzpatrick, founder of Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, and Gerry Adams, president of Ireland's Sinn Fin political party.
Women "contributed to the demand for the end to violence. They simply would not take no for answer," Clinton said of the Good Friday Agreement that started to end The Troubles between Catholics and Protestants. "I have seen this in many places around the country where women move from being victims to agents of change. But I have never seen it more clearly, most resolutely, than I saw in Northern Ireland."
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As president, Bill Clinton spearheaded efforts to end religious divisions that claimed thousands of Irish lives in the 1990s. Then-first lady Hillary Clinton helped in the peace process, primarily by bringing women together and making them part of the peace accords.
In a historic moment, both Clintons stood in Belfast on Nov. 30, 1995 to light the city's Christmas tree. The moment was symbolic in the Irish peace process and capped off a trip that many Irish Americans remember as the highlight of Clintons presidency.
Hillary Clinton said Monday that lessons from the peace process still guide her today.
"There is still work to be done, but that remains a crucial lesson," Clinton said. "You cannot bring peace and security to people just by signing an agreement. In fact, most peace agreements don't last."
Some have questioned how big a role Clinton actually played in bringing peace to Ireland. The Washington Post Fact Checker wrote in 2008 that Clinton "seems to be overstating her significance as a catalyst in the Northern Ireland peace process, which was more symbolic than substantive," but that she did play "a helpful role at the margins."
Clinton is notably not Irish -- her family is of English, Scottish, French, and Welsh descent -- but she was inducted into the Hall of Fame because of her role in the peace process.
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Hillary Clinton spotlights Irish history