(30 Apr 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of US Congress, UPSOUND (English): "Madame Speaker, the Prime Minister of Ireland"
2. Members of Congress applaud as Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern enters
3. Ahern walking to platform and shaking hands with Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House
4. Ahern shaking hands with Pelosi and senator Robert Byrd
5. Wide of members applauding Ahern at joint session
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Bertie Ahern, Irish Prime Minister:
"St. Patrick's Day 2008, a few short weeks ago, I came here to Washington, I came with a simple and extraordinary message. That great day of hope has dawned, our prayer has been answered, our faith has been rewarded. After so many decades of conflict, I am so proud Madame Speaker to be the first Irish leader to inform the United States Congress, Ireland is at peace."
7. Mid pan of members of congress standing and applauding Ahern
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Bertie Ahern, Irish Prime Minister:
"Your invitation to address the joint meeting this morning honours my country and honours me also. It reaffirms the enduring bonds of friendship and esteem between our two peoples, and between our two republics. Those bonds have been built and nurtured and refreshed over the centuries. America and Ireland have something that goes beyond the friendship between countries. To be an Irishman among Americans is to be at home."
9. Wide of Ahern nodding in appreciation as Congress claps
10. Wide of Ahern shaking hands with Pelosi
STORYLINE:
The United States Congress gave Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern an enthusiastic farewell on Wednesday as he hailed ties between Ireland and the United States just days before he plans to step down as premier.
In one of his final acts as statesman, Ahern spoke of the peace he helped craft in Northern Ireland.
"After so many decades of conflict, I am so proud Madame Speaker to be the first Irish leader to inform the United States Congress, Ireland is at peace," he said.
Speaking at a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, Ahern said Ireland and the United States enjoyed a strong bond forged by generations of Irish immigrants.
"To be an Irishman among Americans is to be at home," he said.
Ahern entered the packed chamber of the House to a standing ovation.
The leader of the House, California Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi had invited Ahern two months ago in recognition of his peacemaking efforts and tenure as one of Europe's longest-serving leaders.
Ahern is widely credited with helping to achieve the Good Friday peace accord of 1998 and for overseeing the longest economic expansion in Ireland's history.
Ahern arrived in Washington on Tuesday with his daughter.
The prime minister is stepping down on 6 May as a judicial investigation proceeds into secret payments he received from businessmen in the 1990s.
Before making his shock resignation announcement this month, Ahern had faced mounting criticism for his testimony given to a decade-old corruption tribunal established by his own government.
Ahern initially claimed he received payments from friends in 1993 and 1994 to help him cope with a 1987 marital separation.
But subsequent investigations indicated Ahern also got undisclosed payments in British pounds and US dollars, which Ahern denies.
The probe also indicated Ahern took party funds for his personal benefit.
The prime minister plans to meet President George W. Bush on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Irish Embassy.
The visit comes barely a month after the Irish premier was last in the White House to meet the US leader for St. Patrick's Day.
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...