The Northern Ireland peace process is the “single most important achievement” of Ireland’s relationship with the United States, the Taoiseach has said.

Simon Harris was speaking during an event at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

The two nations are marking 100 years of diplomatic relations this year starting with the then-Irish Free State appointing its first US ambassador in October 1924.

The Taoiseach thanked the United States and particularly singled out Georgetown alumnus senator George Mitchell, who helped politicians towards the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998, for praise.

Senator George Mitchell speaks into a microphone while seated
Simon Harris paid tribute to senator George Mitchell (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA)

“It is, to my mind, the single most important achievement of our relationship over the past 100 years,” he said.

“Ireland’s many friends across the United States have helped us to secure peace on our island.”

Mr Harris recalled being 11 years old when the bombs stopped, “allowing an entire generation of people to grow up on an island of peace”.

“Bipartisan support has come from all levels of government and from communities in each and every one of the 50 states, and today I say thank you for that to our friends across the US,” he said.

“At the highest level, the US has been a steadfast supporter of peace on the island of Ireland. That is something we shall never forget and we deeply appreciate.

“It was president Jimmy Carter, who in August 1977 stated he was ‘on the side of those who seek peace and reject violence’ in a statement on Northern Ireland, which first elevated the conflict to the international stage.

“It was president Ronald Reagan who spoke of the search for a ‘just and peaceful solution’ on St Patrick’s Day 1981 and who was instrumental in helping to secure the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985.

A close-up of a smiling Bill Clinton
Former US president Bill Clinton (PA)

“President Bill Clinton exhorted the crowd gathered in Derry’s Guild Hall Square in November 1995 to ‘have the patience to work for a just and lasting peace. Reach for it and the United States will reach with you’.

“And of course it was President Biden, when he visited Belfast in April 2023, who spoke of the ‘unlimited possibilities’ unlocked by peace.”

He added: “Time and time again those American friends helped to bring often reluctant parties to the table, and in doing so helped to deliver an enduring, lasting peace on the island of Ireland.

“The Good Friday Agreement taught the world, not just Ireland, that peace is always possible, that wounds can always be healed, and that differences that once seemed insurmountable can in fact be overcome.

“It stands in my view as one of the greatest achievements of modern American statecraft.”