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Clinton White House Sought to Avoid Public Handshake with Gerry Adams During Historic Ireland Visit
Newly declassified records reveal that White House officials actively sought to prevent a public handshake between President Bill Clinton and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams during Clinton’s groundbreaking 1995 visit to Ireland. The effort underscores the political sensitivities surrounding engaging with a figure linked to the IRA during a fragile period in the Northern Ireland peace process.
The November 1995 trip marked the first time a serving US president had visited Northern Ireland.Adams, who served as president of Sinn Fein from 1983 to 2018, consistently denied membership in the IRA, which was widely considered the paramilitary wing of the political party. Despite official reservations,clinton and Adams famously shook hands on the Falls Road in Belfast on November 30th,a moment that resonated globally.
Though,a letter penned by Irish government official David Donoghue prior to the presidential visit explicitly stated,”the Americans would prefer to avoid a handshake photograph between the president and Adams.” This directive highlights the intense pressure Clinton faced from both sides of the Atlantic regarding his approach to the Northern Ireland conflict.
The handshake ultimately occurred despite these concerns. clinton later described the moment as a “big deal,” recalling that it felt as though “the pavement was about to crack open.” the gesture signaled a willingness by the US to engage with all parties involved in seeking a peaceful resolution.
Prior to the public encounter, Clinton and Adams had met earlier that year at the White House, but shook hands only after the press had departed. Reports from The New york Times indicate that then-British Prime Minister John Major had urged Clinton not to extend a warm reception to Adams.
The declassified documents, released by the National Archives of Ireland, also shed light on a separate inquiry into Clinton’s claimed ancestral ties to County Fermanagh. Genealogist Sean Murphy investigated widespread claims of Cassidy ancestors originating from the region, prompted by “media dissemination of claims concerning the president’s irish ancestry which proved to be baseless, yet were left un-contradicted by any authoritative source.”
Murphy’s research, presented to the Taoiseach’s office, concluded that Clinton’s links to County Fermanagh were “based largely on fantasy.” He traced the earliest known maternal ancestor to Zachariah Cassidy, born around 1750-60 in South Carolina, and his son, Levi. “The Cassidy ‘clan’ claim that the earliest ancestor was a Luke or Lucas Cassidy of Roslea, Co Fermanagh, appears to be based largely on fantasy,” Murphy wrote.though, he conceded it was “reasonable to speculate” that the family may have once emigrated from Ulster.
The release of these documents follows last year’s revelation that then-US Attorney General Janet Reno had advised against granting Adams a temporary visa in 1995,citing a lack of evidence demonstrating progress toward IRA disarmament and demobilization. That visa, however, was ultimately approved and included permission for fundraising within the US.
The National Archives of Ireland routinely releases declassified government files on a rolling basis, typically covering events from 3
