Live blogging of Bertie Ahern’s speech to joint Houses of Congress
1605 Arrives into chamber. Immediately clear that his make-up budget this year will exceed total US military spending.
1607 Nancy Pelosi introduces him as “His excellency, Bertie Ay-hern”.
1610 Makes mention of Irish Scots as first emigrants to America. Good touch, that.
1612 Gets his plea for the Undocumented in. It’s greeted with applause. By politicians who have opposed it.
1615 Still talking about how much of an influence the Irish have had on America. “In all of America there is Irish-America”. Describing 9/11 as among the “most terrible events in world history”, he talks about Fr Michael Judge, who died that day. He’s pressing all the buttons here, mentioning of the Statue of Liberty, the American Dream, 9/11, New York’s police and fire departments.
1619 Finally gets a Kennedy mention in. Also mentions Reagan as a famous Irish-American.
1623 There’s a shot of the crowd turning their page at the same time. Proof that he’s not making this up as he goes along.
1626 America has shown the way in the conflict in Darfur and Africa as a whole, he says. I’m guessing there might be some who could pick holes in that assessment. It’s followed by some bland references to how Israelis and Palestinians should be helped to get along.
1628 “I am so proud to be the first Irish leader” to inform them that “Ireland is at peace”. Big standing ovation. Mention of Sen George Mitchell. Another standing ovation.
1632 Charming them with his trademark mispronunciations, eg “Sarkificing”.
1633 “There is, of course, no ending to history.” Clear dig at Francis Fukuyama there.
1634 He talks about the greatness of representative democracy. In a room full of people under the thumb of lobbyists.
1639 Wraps up by talking about peace, and the Battle of the Boyne, he says “The field of slaughter is now a meeting place of mutual understanding.” Then talks about his resignation, and his “worthy successor”. The morning after he will stand silently at the graves of the patriot dead, do his last duty and recall the words of the 1916 Proclamation. Quotes from it, saying these are the values on which Ireland stands. “In history, politics and in life there are no ends only new beginnings. So let us begin. Go raibh mile maith agaibh and thank you for the opportunity.”
1640 Hurries back to mic and yells “Make art!”
How it that people come here illegally are “illegal immigrants” and the Irish in the US illegally get to be called the “undocumented”?
Comment by Ivor | April 30, 2008 at 3:22 pmHe fluffed his line on the “eloquence” of the Irish declaration of independence. Oh the ironing is delicious!
Comment by Adam | April 30, 2008 at 3:25 pmI hope some scandal happens before he gets to bow out or this’ll be called some sort of crowning moment… seemed about a decade old though.
Comment by B'dum B'dum | April 30, 2008 at 5:17 pmAnd I’m guessing the Irish declaration of independence was meant to be resonant of the American declaration of independence, not resident. Still, it was definitely one of his better deliveries but that is a bit like talking about one of Tony Daley’s better England performances.
Comment by Dan Sullivan | April 30, 2008 at 6:00 pmI tried listening to it and I had to keep switching off. All the Murphys and McSweeneys and buildings made by the Irish. Too much fawning all around.
Ivor - you are dead right. Double standards abound with regard to immigration in this country.
Comment by MikeB | May 1, 2008 at 7:18 amWas it my telly or was Bertie spectacularly orange?
Comment by Roisin | May 1, 2008 at 9:46 amRoisin - Our make-up technology is lagging about 10 years behind the US.
Comment by Shane | May 1, 2008 at 9:50 amRoisin, Bertie was simply trying in his own way to represent the other tradition as he sees it on the island of Ireland.
Comment by Dan Sullivan | May 1, 2008 at 10:14 amBertie gives speech. Bloggers are cynical. Stevo falls into a coma.
Comment by Steve K | May 1, 2008 at 10:30 amSteve - Presumably, you fell into a coma a moment after posting a cynical comment on a blog.
Comment by Shane | May 1, 2008 at 10:32 amShane - if you look carefully you will see it was done in the third-person. So it couldn’t have been me.
Comment by Steve K | May 1, 2008 at 10:59 amI was in Phoenix AZ on Wednesday and had to deliver a talk to some 75 fellow company training peers and knowing that Bertie was speaking at roughly the same time to the joint houses of Congress I decided to open my talk with a comment (tongue in cheek) that I was one of 2 important Irish men addressing a US audience that morning. I then asked them did they know who the second was….. the silence was deafening! eventually one kind person offered Bono! I cut my losses and told them of the great honor it was…. I checked todays USA Today and it was not covered at all!
Comment by Kieran Branagan | May 2, 2008 at 12:41 ammust say, the image of bertie ahern skittering back over to a mic and yelling ‘make art’ is one that got me the duller moments of the past week
Comment by real_gone | May 6, 2008 at 8:28 pm