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Absence of U.S. Envoy in Dublin Looms Over White House St. Patrick’s Day Absence of U.S. Envoy in Dublin Looms Over White House St. Patrick’s Day
(1 day later)
WASHINGTON — When Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland presents President Obama with a traditional bowl of shamrocks at the White House on Friday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, there will be a rare snake at this reliably convivial garden party. WASHINGTON — When Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland presented President Obama with a traditional bowl of shamrocks at the White House on Friday to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, there was a rare snake lurking at this convivial garden party.
The Obama administration has not nominated a new ambassador to Dublin since Daniel Rooney, the chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers, left his post in December 2012. The 14-month gap is the longest between envoys since 1927, and has become a source of bewilderment and pique among Irish officials and prominent Irish-Americans. The Obama administration has not nominated a new ambassador to Dublin since Dan Rooney, the chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers, left his post in December 2012. The 14-month gap is the longest between envoys since 1927, and has become a source of bewilderment and pique among Irish officials and prominent Irish-Americans.
“It’s almost scandalous,” said Brian O’Dwyer, a New York lawyer who is the chairman of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and a board member of Irish-American Democrats. “It shows an inexplicable indifference to Ireland and the Irish-American community.”“It’s almost scandalous,” said Brian O’Dwyer, a New York lawyer who is the chairman of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and a board member of Irish-American Democrats. “It shows an inexplicable indifference to Ireland and the Irish-American community.”
The White House insists it is “finalizing” its selection of a candidate and plans to make an announcement soon. “We understand the urgency of having an ambassador in Dublin,” said a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Laura Lucas Magnuson.The White House insists it is “finalizing” its selection of a candidate and plans to make an announcement soon. “We understand the urgency of having an ambassador in Dublin,” said a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Laura Lucas Magnuson.
Among the names in circulation is Tom Carnahan, a St. Louis businessman with the rich political ties typical of those who get such plum posts. His father, Mel Carnahan, who served as governor of Missouri, died in a plane crash during his Senate campaign in 2000, and his mother, Jean, took the seat after he was posthumously elected. Mr. Carnahan declined to comment on Thursday. The Irish rumor mill is churning, with out-of-town guests in Washington for a week of pre-St. Patrick’s Day events swapping gossip about who, from the pool of 40 million Americans of Irish extraction, would be picked. The smart money is now on a candidate from Chicago.
But the lengthy delay is bruising feelings among the Irish, who like to think their relationship with the United States is somehow different than that of any other country: intimate, emotional and sentimental. Britain may have its special relationship, but the Irish are family. But the lengthy delay is bruising feelings among the Irish, who like to think their relationship with the United States is somehow different from that of any other country: intimate, emotional and sentimental. Britain may have its special relationship, but the Irish are family.
“There’s a sense of mystery around why this hasn’t happened,” said Niall O’Dowd, the founder of IrishCentral.com and publisher of several Irish-American papers. “You can accept it not happening on the first St. Patrick’s Day, but teeing it up for the next St. Patrick’s Day is a no-brainer.”“There’s a sense of mystery around why this hasn’t happened,” said Niall O’Dowd, the founder of IrishCentral.com and publisher of several Irish-American papers. “You can accept it not happening on the first St. Patrick’s Day, but teeing it up for the next St. Patrick’s Day is a no-brainer.”
Mr. Kenny is expected to raise the issue with Mr. Obama, according to people with ties to the Irish Embassy in Washington. He will have no shortage of opportunities: the Taoiseach, as the prime minister is known at home, will spend much of Friday with the president, meeting him in the Oval Office in the morning, breaking bread with him on Capitol Hill at a lunch hosted by House Speaker John A. Boehner, and raising a glass at the White House in the afternoon. Mr. Kenny had plenty of opportunities to pester Mr. Obama: the Taoiseach, as the prime minister is known at home, spent much of Friday with the president, meeting him in the Oval Office in the morning, breaking bread with him on Capitol Hill at a lunch hosted by House Speaker John A. Boehner, and raising a glass at the White House in the afternoon.
In his toast, Mr. Obama said nothing about the lack of an envoy but praised Ireland for recently naming the first woman, Anne Anderson, as its ambassador to Washington, “which means that, you know, they might finally get it right.”
Sentiment aside, there are enough delicate issues between Ireland and the United States to warrant filling the post soon.Sentiment aside, there are enough delicate issues between Ireland and the United States to warrant filling the post soon.
Ireland’s corporate tax laws came under fierce fire from senators of both parties last year, after disclosures that Apple and other American companies set up subsidiaries there that allowed them to shelter their income and pay lower tax rates than in the United States.Ireland’s corporate tax laws came under fierce fire from senators of both parties last year, after disclosures that Apple and other American companies set up subsidiaries there that allowed them to shelter their income and pay lower tax rates than in the United States.
Ireland has lobbied in favor of the White House’s campaign to overhaul the immigration code, because it would provide a path to American citizenship for more than 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants and grant entry visas to a designated number of immigrants each year — something Irish groups have been seeking for decades. Ireland is lobbying to overhaul the nation’s immigration code because it would provide a path to American citizenship for more than 50,000 Irish immigrants here illegally and grant entry visas to a designated number of immigrants each year. Mr. Boehner joked Friday that both Mr. Obama and Mr. Kenny had pressed him on it.
While Northern Ireland has fallen off the radar screen in the United States since the Good Friday Accord was signed during the Clinton administration, the peace there is fragile, as demonstrated by the protests that erupted over provocative marches and limits placed on the flying of the union flag on public buildings in Belfast. While Northern Ireland has fallen off the radar screen in the United States since the Good Friday Accord was signed during the Clinton administration, the peace there is fragile, as shown by the protests that erupted over provocative marches and limits placed on the flying of the union flag on public buildings in Belfast.
“It’s never good when you don’t have an ambassador, simply because it sends a bad signal,” said Richard N. Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who chaired multiparty negotiations over how to deal with flags, parades and other legacies of the Troubles. “It’s often interpreted as a sign that the country is not a priority.” “It’s never good when you don’t have an ambassador, simply because it sends a bad signal,” said Richard N. Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who was chairman of multiparty negotiations over how to deal with flags, parades and other legacies of the Troubles. “It’s often interpreted as a sign that the country is not a priority.”
Of course, he added, “The only thing that can be worse than not having an ambassador is having a bad one.”Of course, he added, “The only thing that can be worse than not having an ambassador is having a bad one.”
The Obama administration has seemed in jeopardy of that, too. A series of cringe-worthy statements by nominees at confirmation hearings — a businessman bound for Buenos Aires who admitted that he had never visited Argentina and did not speak Spanish; another who described one of Norway’s governing parties as “fringe” — left senators fuming that Mr. Obama was picking people based solely on their fund-raising prowess. The White House has faced accusations of that, too, as it seeks to fill more than 40 embassy posts. A series of cringe-worthy statements by several recent nominees — a businessman bound for Buenos Aires who admitted that he had never visited Argentina and did not speak Spanish; another who described one of Norway’s governing parties as “fringe” — left senators fuming that Mr. Obama was picking people based solely on their fund-raising prowess.
Ireland has fared better than that. Jean Kennedy Smith, whom President Bill Clinton appointed in 1993, played a consequential role in the peace process. James C. Kenny and Thomas C. Foley, Republican businessmen appointed by President George W. Bush, were both popular.Ireland has fared better than that. Jean Kennedy Smith, whom President Bill Clinton appointed in 1993, played a consequential role in the peace process. James C. Kenny and Thomas C. Foley, Republican businessmen appointed by President George W. Bush, were both popular.
Mr. Rooney, a courtly 81-year-old, brought his affection for football to Ireland, installing a not-quite-regulation-size field next to his elegant residence in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. But he also fanned questions about whether he would be a short-timer when he told the Irish Times in 2011 that he would consider returning Stateside to campaign for Mr. Obama’s re-election. He wound up staying until the end of 2012. Mr. Rooney, 81, took his affection for football to Ireland, installing a not-quite-regulation-size field next to his elegant residence in Phoenix Park in Dublin. But Mr. Rooney, who became ambassador in 2009, also fanned questions about whether he would be a short-timer when he said he might return home to campaign for Mr. Obama’s re-election. He wound up staying until the end of 2012.
Underlying the angst about the delay is a nagging sense that Ireland does not have the same claim on Mr. Obama’s affections as it did on Mr. Clinton’s. There is little question that Mr. Obama reveled in his visit to his ancestral home in Moneygall, Ireland, in 2011. His sip of Guinness has been immortalized in postcards with the inscription, “Tall, Dark, and Had Some.” Underlying the angst is a nagging sense that Ireland does not have the same claim on Mr. Obama’s affections as it did on Mr. Clinton’s. There is little question that Mr. Obama reveled in his visit to an ancestor’s home in Moneygall, Ireland, in 2011. His sip of Guinness has been immortalized in postcards with the inscription “Tall, Dark, and Had Some.”
He has also surrounded himself with a clan worthy of a Kennedy: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; the chief of staff, Denis R. McDonough; the former national security adviser, Tom Donilon; and the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, whose mother came from County Roscommon.He has also surrounded himself with a clan worthy of a Kennedy: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; the chief of staff, Denis R. McDonough; the former national security adviser, Tom Donilon; and the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, whose mother came from County Roscommon.
But Mr. Obama is less sentimental about his Irish ties. At St. Patrick’s Day receptions during the 1990s, guests recall, Mr. Clinton used to stay late and join them in singing “Danny Boy.” Mr. Obama’s appearances are brisk, and the White House has moved the event from 6:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., making it seem less like happy hour than afternoon tea. But Mr. Obama is less sentimental about his Irish ties. At St. Patrick’s Day receptions during the 1990s, guests recall, Mr. Clinton used to stay late and join them in singing “Danny Boy.” Mr. Obama’s appearances are brisk, and the White House has moved the event from 6:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., making it seem less like happy hour than afternoon tea.
After toasting Mr. Kenny with a glass of water in 2012, Mr. Obama told the boisterous crowd to “have a wonderful time while you’re here,” but warned, “Don’t break anything.” “Thank you for the toast, Mr. President,” Mr. Kenny said after he and Mr. Obama clinked glasses of water. “I didn’t think that austerity was biting that far into the White House.”