St Patrick’s Day in the White House was a night to remember. The roof almost lifted off to the sound of the cheers that greeted John Hume, when he broke off singing ‘The Town That I Loved So Well’ to say: ‘Come up here Gerry and join in.’ As the applause for the Hume and Adams duet died away, Bruce Morrison turned to Niall O’Dowd and asked: ‘Do you think the State Department will get the message now?’ It was truly a night in which Irish eyes were smiling. Nuns and priests, Loyalist paramilitary leaders, Cardinals and diplomats, the great and the good of America seemed to be saying that peace
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