Revisiting the role of the United States of America in Northern Ireland

The 1995 visit of the President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, to Northern Ireland has become a symbol of the promise of a peaceful Northern Ireland as viewed through the lens of the mid 1990s. Speaking on this trip, Clinton pledged the help of the United States of America to “secure the tangible benefits of peace,” and his administration was instrumental in securing the 1998 peace agreement known variously as the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement. The Clinton visit has become culturally iconic in modern Northern Ireland, even though Northern Ireland has failed to achieve a stable devolved government. New challenges resulting from the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union has brought a host of concerns over the constitutional arrangements for Northern Ireland. This chapter seeks to explore the current status of the United States-Northern Ireland relationship, using archival research and examining popular cultural references will argue that the changing nature of the U.S. interventions in Northern Ireland, and particularly the absence of a contemporary figure in the mold of Bill Clinton, has hindered the development of the Northern Ireland peace process.