National Archives - Attempt to get President Carter to offer help in ending stalemate
By Ryle Dwyer
Irish Examiner
29 December 2007
ON ST Patrick’s Day 1977, four prominent Irish-American politicians issued a statement in Washington denouncing the violence in Northern Ireland.
The four — Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Daniel P Moynihan of New York, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O’Neill and Governor Hugh Carey of New York — appealed to Americans “to renounce any action that promotes the current violence or provides support or encouragement for organisations engaged in violence”.
They encouraged the Carter administration to take a stand on Northern Ireland, which seemed hopelessly deadlocked at the time.
In June, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance scheduled a meeting with those Irish-American politicians, who were dubbed the “Four Horsemen”.
“The problem will have to be settled by the parties themselves,” said Senator Kennedy, “but there may be ways that we can provide initiatives in that direction.”
Ambassador John G Molloy and Michael Lillis, counsellor of the Irish Embassy, had talks at the State Department where they suggested President Carter could help by holding out the prospect of jobs in the event of peace as it was hoped this would encourage people on both sides of the sectarian divide to co-operate.
The Carter statement was timed to secure maximum publicity before Congress returned from its summer recess and after “the marching season” in the North. The Irish and British governments were consulted, and Edward Kennedy prepared the ground so that the initiative would have cross community appeal. He had the Library of Congress prepare a study of the Protestant Irish heritage in America.
It was well known that his brother, John F Kennedy, was the first Irish Catholic president of the US, but he noted few people realised that 13 previous presidents had an Irish Protestant heritage.
“It is important,” he said, “for Irish-Americans in the US to do what we can to reassure the Protestants in Northern Ireland that they have nothing to fear from the Irish-American community.”
Mr Carter issued his statement on August 30, 1977.
“The US wholeheartedly supports peaceful means for finding a just solution that involves both parts of the community of Northern Ireland,” said President Carter.
“Violence cannot resolve Northern Ireland’s problems: it only increases them, and solves nothing.”
He asked Americans to stop funding organisations supporting violence in the North. Prospects for investment would, he said, be enhanced by a peaceful settlement.
“In the event of such a settlement,” he said, “the US government would be prepared to join with others to see how additional job-creating investment could be encouraged, to the benefit of all the people of Northern Ireland.”
