Why Ireland Loves Bill Clinton: 'I Will Never Forget'

• Former U.S. President Bill Clinton remains a popular figure in Ireland.
• Clinton will visit Northern Ireland next week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
• Clinton's popularity in Ireland is in part due to his role in the Northern Ireland peace process and his visits to the island during his presidency.

In the small Irish seaside town of Ballybunion, County Kerry, visitors might be surprised to find former U.S. President Bill Clinton teeing up a golf swing right outside the local police station.

The statue of Clinton was erected in September 1998 and memorializes his time at the local golf course during one of his visits to the island of Ireland during his eight-year presidency.

Clinton remains a popular figure in the country and played a key role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It was a landmark deal in establishing peace in Northern Ireland after decades of sectarian conflict.

"The idea that it weathered Brexit is a miracle because Brexit was aimed right at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement, even if not intentionally," Clinton told Irish state broadcaster RTÉ last week.

He was referring to the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union (EU). This has complicated the situation between Ireland and Northern Ireland and raised serious concerns about a hard border across the island.

His wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, serves as chancellor of Queens University Belfast (QUB). She told RTÉ in the same interview that Brexit has set Northern Ireland back, "creating a very difficult situation for Northern Ireland in the midst of separating from the European Union."

Those comments are likely to find a receptive audience in the Republic of Ireland, where the U.K.'s vote to leave the EU remains a matter of serious concern.

Memories of Clinton

The former president's enduring popularity in Ireland could have just as much to do with his personal appeal as it does with his administration's successes in foreign policy.

No other U.S. president visited Ireland so frequently, and his trips appear to have made a lasting impression. When Clinton stopped in the city of Limerick in 1998, a local pub was renamed his honor, and customers happily drank in Bill Clinton's on Lower Cecil Street for some years afterward.

Some locals remember the bathroom doors advising patrons they were for "Bills" and "Monicas:" a reference to the former president's affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

Located on the River Shannon in Ireland's Midwest, Limerick residents can sometimes believe that their city is overlooked. Bill Clinton's visit made them feel differently.

Stuart McNamara's family was involved in the local bakery trade in Limerick for generations. He was just 6 years old when Clinton came to his hometown, but he recalled it fondly over drinks.

"I don't think I even really understood what or where America was when I was 6, but from the way adults talked, I knew the visit was something important," McNamara told Newsweek.

"Watching President Clinton wave to the crowd as he passed, and feeling the excitement of the crowd who gathered to see him, was something I will never forget," McNamara added.

Taking Northern Ireland Seriously

Diarmaid Ferriter is a professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin (UCD). He told Newsweek that Clinton's genuine interest in Irish affairs, and in working for peace, were major contributors to his image in Ireland.

"If you look at the broad sweep of American presidential involvement in Ireland, Clinton's carried by far the biggest charge," the professor said.

Ferriter noted, "the commitments he made before he was elected president, that he would take Northern Ireland seriously." He added that it was during former President Jimmy Carter's era that "the White House actually kind of broke its silence on Northern Ireland."

Those who had been trying to break that silence included the late John Hume, a nationalist politician from Northern Ireland. He was one of the most prominent figures in the history of the peace process and shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his efforts.

"Hume had been attempting to knock on doors in America to try to get them to get the political establishment engaged in Northern Ireland," Ferriter explained. He added that it was "a tough task because of America's relationship with Britain, and they didn't want to be dragged into that whole area."

"So, the importance of Clinton was that he took this and ran with it, and obviously he's established a particular emotional, as well as political, connection with Ireland," Ferriter added.

"He's been here quite a bit. I also remember him coming over for the funeral of Martin McGuinness [in 2017], which was an illustration, I suppose, of the extent of the engagement," Ferriter said.

McGuinness, a Sinn Féin politician, had served as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland. During the Troubles, the period of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, McGuinness had been a leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group that was designated as a terrorist organization.

"But Clinton was obviously somebody who wanted to strike this up as a foreign policy success for himself as well," Ferriter added. "So it's not entirely selfless or self-sacrificing."

"It's good for the White House to be seen to be using that diplomatic heft it had to try to crack that Northern Ireland nut. It was such an intractable problem," he said.

"It's partly about being able to chalk up certain successes himself. But there's also a genuine interest there that was shared, obviously, with Hillary Clinton," Ferriter added.

An Enduring Commitment

Katy Hayward is a professor at The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at QUB. The institute is named after former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who was a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process.

"I was in Derry in 1995 and 1996 when he was over and [making] famous speeches, sort of iconic moments. He was really speaking directly to the people," Hayward told Newsweek.

"It wasn't just being behind closed doors with the parties themselves, that kind of role that he had as a charismatic figure," she went on.

"That's something that means he's quite different to some of the others," said Hayward, pointing out that Clinton still visits.

"The fact he still comes. I think that's a sort of enduring commitment," she added.

Biden and Clinton in Ireland

Like Clinton, President Joe Biden makes no secret of his affinity for Ireland, and he's made repeated references to his Irish ancestors. The president is likely to meet distant relatives on planned visits to County Louth and County Mayo this week.

He'll begin his visit in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he'll mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement before heading south of the border.

Biden was a senator during Clinton's presidency and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that role, he encouraged the Clinton administration to commit time and resources to help resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Former President Clinton will visit Northern Ireland next week. He'll attend a conference at QUB on the Good Friday Agreement, hosted by his wife in her role as chancellor.

While Biden is expected to be feted in during his visit to Ireland, Bill Clinton still holds a special appeal for people in both parts of the island. His role in the peace process and his famous personal touch won't soon fade from Irish memories.