Senator George Mitchell:

I thank the Chairman. On American support, I am no longer a US Government official but I can accurately state there is broad bipartisan support in the US for a resolution of the differences that continue in Northern Ireland and for a resolution of any differences between the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Specifically, there is very strong support for the full implementation and continuation of the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, especially as they affect the Border.

I was very fortunate that President Clinton asked me to serve, at first in a very limited capacity, and then ultimately the Prime Minister and Taoiseach asked me to serve as chairman of the talks.. It meant a lot to me personally. My father's parents were born in Ireland. They emigrated to the US just before 1900. My father was born in Boston, where they settled, but he never knew his parents. His mother died and his father could not care for the children so he and his siblings were raised in Catholic orphanages in Boston. My father was adopted by an elderly, childless couple from the state of Maine where I live and am at this moment. He had a tough life with no education and worked as a labourer and a janitor. His adoptive parents were not Irish so he did not have any real sense of his Irish heritage. I, by the grace of God, had the good fortune to be asked to go to Ireland and, in a sense, I am the principal beneficiary of it because I have learned a lot about the land of my father's parents and it has filled in me a void I did not even know existed about my Irish heritage.

If I can conclude this serious stuff on a humorous note, the first questioner mentioned the bridge connecting Northern Ireland and Ireland. I went there for the dedication and there were a whole bunch of ceremonies, meetings, speeches and so forth. At one small gathering I was asked about my father and there was sort of disbelief at how I knew so little about him. A couple said to me they were in the business of genealogy and, if I hired them, they would track down my father's heritage. The local councillor, who had a typical sly Irish sense of humour said, "Senator, if you pay them enough, they will connect you to Brian Boru." I did not do it but to me it is all a labour of love. I love the place, I love the people and I have enjoyed being with the committee this morning.