George H.W. Bush: “May I just say to Minister Andrews how delighted I am to be here. I missed the traditional lunch on Capitol Hill, a…”

“May I just say to Minister Andrews how delighted I am to be here. I missed the traditional lunch on Capitol Hill, a lunch of genuine friendship between not only the parties here, but normally Ireland is so well-represented, as they were today. And as I think everyone knows, I was down in Arkansas for a Medal of Freedom ceremony. But may I say to our friends from Ireland, particularly the Minister, how sorry I am to miss the luncheon but how pleased I am to receive you here. It gives me an opportunity to express, once again, the feeling I have and the feeling the American people have about the Irish-American relationship. It is strong. It is good. And it is very, very important to us. And this ceremonial occasion gives me a chance to extend through the Minister to the people in Ireland our respects, our love, and our affection on this very special day. So Mr. Minister, I'm glad you came our way, sir. And I'm delighted to have had this short visit. [At this point, Foreign Minister David Andrews of Ireland spoke and presented the President with a crystal bowl filled with Irish shamrocks.]”