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The learning network | nov. 30, 1995 | president clinton visits northern ireland to support peace process.

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Nov. 30, 1995 | President Clinton Visits Northern Ireland to Support Peace Process

when did bill clinton visit derry

Historic Headlines

Learn about key events in history and their connections to today.

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On Nov. 30, 1995, President Bill Clinton became the first United States chief executive to visit Northern Ireland, touring the cities of Belfast and Derry to show support for the peace process. The New York Times reported, “The president has been more deeply involved than any of his predecessors in the intractable problems of this island, an involvement that caused him to cast aside the fears of other presidents that a trip here might fray relations with the British.”

For decades, during a period known as the Troubles, Northern Ireland had been the scene of sectarian violence between the primarily Protestant unionists, who supported the continued union with Great Britain, and the primarily Roman Catholic nationalists, who wanted Northern Ireland to be united with the Republic of Ireland , which gained its independence from Britain in 1921. Nearly 3,400 civilians, paramilitaries and security forces had been killed from 1969 to 1994, when the nationalist Irish Republican Army and various unionist paramilitary groups agreed to a ceasefire.

President Clinton found that conditions in the country had improved. The Times described Belfast as having been “defaced until recently by miles of barbed wire and hundreds of concrete-filled barrels that formed an awful monument to sectarian savagery,” but now “British Army patrols have all but disappeared and the checkpoints that blocked roads leading from the airport and the Catholic south have been dismantled.”

Two and a half years after the president’s visit, leaders from Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement, which ended direct British rule and called for any change in Northern Ireland’s political status to be determined by a majority of the country’s citizens. In 2007, nationalist and unionist politicians reached a power-sharing agreement for the first time in five years . The Good Friday Agreement is considered the official end of the Troubles, though the actions of extremist paramilitary groups continue to bring sporadic violence.

Connect to Today:

In a 2010 Op-Ed piece that appeared in The Times, Ali Abunimah stated that the United States should apply lessons learned from the Northern Irish peace process to negotiations taking place in the Middle East. Specifically, he argued that Hamas, a political group that rules the Gaza Strip, must be allowed to take part in the peace negotiations, despite the United States, Israel and Europe regarding it as a terrorist organization. Mr. Abunimah compared the situation with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army being allowed to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Abunimah also cited a letter by British and Irish negotiators. It argues: “Engaging Hamas does not amount to condoning terrorism or attacks on civilians. In fact, it is a precondition for security and for brokering a workable agreement.”

What do you think about negotiating with political groups like Hamas that many consider terrorist organizations? Is it necessary to include all sides in negotiations in order to achieve a lasting peace? Why or why not?

Learn more about what happened in history on Nov. 30»

Learn more about Historic Headlines and our collaboration with findingDulcinea »

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this post left out the phrase “in five years,” and the corresponding link, from the sentence “In 2007, nationalist and unionist politicians reached a power-sharing agreement for the first time in five years .”

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The day Bill Clinton came to town: US President gets a surprise kiss at the Guildhall in Derry

25 years on from historic visit.

The day Bill Clinton came to town: US President gets a surprise kiss at the Guildhall in Derry

Bill Clinton pictured with council staff during his visit to Derry in 1995.

Marianne Flood

30 Nov 2020 4:08 PM

when did bill clinton visit derry

This day 25 years ago, on a grey and bitterly cold November afternoon, Bill Clinton became the first and last American President to visit Derry.

He brought with him First Lady Hillary Clinton, a large security entourage and a sense of hope that better days were ahead for the city.

Peace in the North was still new and fragile.

It was just a year on from the Provisional IRA ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement was still three years away.

But Mr Clinton, who presided over the longest period of peace and economic expansion in American history, made it seem possible that could happen here too.

On Thursday, November 30, 1995, the city came to a virtual standstill as thousands of people gathered in the Guildhall Square to see the famously charismatic President.

The crowds extended into Waterloo Place, up Shipquay Street and along the Walls.

Tickets for the Guildhall Square were like gold dust and the security for the event was on a level Derry had never seen before, with CIA men patrolling the crowd and snipers lined up on the roof of the buildings on Shipquay Place.

But one local man, retired teacher Jim Craig, outsmarted security and 'snuck' his 16 year-old son in under their nose.

"I had a ticket for myself and my daughter Jeananne but I said to Johnny 'come on down anyway and we'll see what happens'," he recalled.

"I gave the guy the tickets and then I got him chatting about where he was from in America and Johnny slipped in past him.”

It was a day Mr Craig will never forget.

"Clinton was a star performer - he oozed charm and bonhomie.

"The city was really buoyed up by him.

"There was definitely a feeling that better days were coming."

Although it presented numerous logistical difficulties, President Clinton had insisted on coming to Derry's Guildhall Square.

Since Derry lacked an airfield suitable for Air Force One, the President and the First Lady took a cold and turbulent hour-long flight aboard a U.S. Marines Blackhawk helicopter.

Their arrival was much warmer and they were greeted by a massive crowd of American flag-waving supporters, many of whom surged to rope lines to shake their hands.

Mr Clinton was welcomed on stage by the Mayor of Derry SDLP Councillor John Kerr who threw out his arms to encourage the applause of the crowd.

“Mr President,” he said, “we, the people of Derry welcome you to our beloved city with the expression of our deepest respect and esteem for you personally... we pray to God that your deliberations in accord with others on these islands will bring about a truly lasting peace, for which we all yearn.”

His speech was interrupted by chants from the crowd of 'We want Bill' but the President, who wasn't familiar with the Derry accent, turned to John Hume who was sitting on his right and asked 'Who's Bull?'

John Hume, who Mr Clinton went on to describe as 'Ireland's most tireless champion for civil rights and its most eloquent voice of nonviolence', took to the lecturn to welcome him to his home city.

He was greeted by a cheer equal to that given to the President.

“The reason we are all gathered in our streets today is to say thank you to President Clinton and Mrs Clinton and their administration because peace in our land has been central to the President’s policy since the day he was elected and we on our streets, who know for the past 25 years what the absence of peace has meant, are deeply grateful,” said Mr Hume.

Finally, at 2.40pm it was Mr Clinton's turn to speak and he began by explaining how the historic visit came about.

"I know that at least twice already I have had the honour of hosting John and Pat in Washington.

"And the last time I saw him I said, 'You can't come back to Washington one more time until you let me come to Derry'. And here I am.”

In an emotive and uplifting speech,  the President told the people of Derry peace was a choice we could all make.

"The deep divisions, the most important ones, are those between the peacemakers and the enemies of peace - those who deep down inside want peace more than anything, and those who, deep down inside can't bring themselves to reach out for peace.

"Those who are in the ship of peace and those who would sink it.

"Those who bravely meet on the bridge of reconciliation, and those who would blow it up."

He continued: "My friends, everyone in life at some point has to decide what kind of person he or she is going to be.

"Are you going to be someone who defines yourself in terms of what you are against, or what you are for?

"Will you be someone who defines yourself in terms of who you aren't, or who you are?

"The time has come for the peacemakers to triumph in Northern Ireland, and the United States will support them as they do."

Mr Clinton continued: "I believe we live in a time of hope and history rhyming.

"Standing here in front of the Guildhall, looking out over these historic walls, I see a peaceful city, a safe city, a hopeful city, full of young people that should have a peaceful and prosperous future here where their roots and families are. "That is what I see today with you."

Following his historic speech, the President and the First Lady withdrew into the Guildhall building for two closed-door events, including a reception for the inauguration of the Tip O’Neill Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Ulster.

After his official duties in the Main Hall were over, the couple descended the stairs to meet with members of staff from Derry City Council, including 25-year-old Karen Henderson who worked for the Member Service and works for council to this day as the Mayoral and Member Service Officer.

"We had a very short time to prepare for the visit so we were working every hour God sent," Karen recalled.

"It was all confidential and we knew it was going to be a big deal.

"On the day itself I was stationed at the BT building checking people's tickets and there were more security checks after that to check people's bags and so on.

"After the speeches we were allowed up to the Main Hall to watch from the back and afterwards there was a special audience set up for staff just outside what is now the Mayor's Parlour."

The President made his way along the line of staff shaking each of them by the hand and thanking them for their work, but Karen decided to welcome the President in  a way he wouldn't forget.

"He went to shake my hand and I kissed him on the lips," she admitted.

"I had to seize my moment."

Years later Karen was working at the Guildhall for the filming of the Season 2 finale of Derry Girls which recreated the President's historic visit.

"I told the cast that I was actually there that day," said Karen.

"They recreated it brilliantly. The buzz was just the same."

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when did bill clinton visit derry

Screen Rant

12 real-life events that happen in derry girls.

While Derry Girls has produced a lot of laughs over the years, some fans might not be aware that its storylines are influenced by real-life events.

Content Warning: This article contains discussions/references of violence and death.

The Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls is a heartwarming and funny coming-of-age story revolving around a group of teenagers growing up in the aftermath of an ethnic-nationalist conflict in the 1990s. For those unacquainted with Irish history, Derry and other settlements in Northern Ireland were severely affected by 'the Troubles' that emerged out of debates on Northern Ireland's constitutional status. Hence, it wouldn't come as a surprise that despite its cheery characters, Derry Girls has its share of dark comedy with satirical undertones. The show is also true to the period it's set in recounting actual historical events, such as Bill Clinton's trip to Ireland, a polar bear's disappearance from a zoo, and so on.

Though fans of the show were certainly sad to see the acclaimed comedy series end with its third season, it left on a high note. Once again, the show told its own touching story while also tying in elements of real-world events surrounding its setting of 1990s Ireland. From the big events fans likely heard of to the lesser-known events that added color to the series, there are more real-life moments from Derry Girls' final season.

Take That Concert

The Manchester-bred pop group Take That was on an all-time high in the 90s. As Take That plans to perform in Belfast, Erin and her friends plan to embark on a road trip despite her parents' disapproval. Erin's frustration rises even further as she finds this to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

RELATED: Which Derry Girls Character Are You, Based On Your Zodiac Sign?

It turns out that Take That did perform at Belfast in 1993 and 1994. Even though season 2 is set in 1995, the storyline might be referencing either one of these concerts. Following this, Take That suffered major setbacks as Robbie Williams marked his departure in 1995 while the band split up a year later.

Weeping Virgin Mary

There are certainly intelligent characters on Derry Girls but they can all have moments of foolishness as well. As Erin chases a dog to a church's upper level, the pet ends up urinating on the floor, which accidentally drips onto a statue of the Virgin Mary. This then leads to Erin's sleep-deprived peers believing the statue is weeping, a rumor that ends up spreading all over the town.

While this doesn't recount a particular historical event, weeping Mary statues are observed in various countries over the years. Some of these are cases of fraud (as shown in Derry Girls ) while others are deemed to be because of supernatural or divine reasons. In Ireland, the oldest case of a weeping statue was in 1920 when a teenager from Tipperary discovered a statue of Mary crying out tears of blood .

Bill Clinton's Visit To Derry

In the season 2 finale, the town of Derry looks forward to a visit by Bill Clinton. In particular, Grandpa Joe (Iain McElhinney) is interested to catch a glimpse of the then-American President while Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney) 'refuses' to give a day off to her students.

Bill and Hillary Clinton did visit Derry in November, 1995 . His speech at the Guildhall Square would later mark the ceasefire leading up to the 'Good Friday Agreement,' which marked an end to the Troubles. Viewers can also get a glimpse of archival footage of this same speech by the end of the episode. It makes for one of the best Derry Girls episodes .

1998 Omagh Bombing References

Unlike its follow-up, season 1 ended on a more cynical note as it highlighted a bomb explosion that was meant to show a similar impact to the 1998 car bomb explosion at Omagh. This explosion was carried out in 1998 by a breakaway faction of the Irish Republican Army as an act of defiance against the Good Friday Agreement. 29 people were killed within the UK and Ireland, strengthening anti-terrorism laws as a result.

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In the words of showrunner Lisa McGee , 'There were lots of day-to-day things that were funny but occasionally there was something big like Omagh, that the whole nation went ‘this just has to change’...I’ve not based anything on any particular incident, but it was just something at that scale."

Orange Walks

July 12 marks a Protestant celebration simply known as the Twelfth. The day marks Prince William of Orange's victory over King James II, an event commemorated by parades under the Orange Order (a Protestant order based in Northern Ireland). The 'Orange walks' are often scrutinized by other groups like the Catholics and Irish nationalists, who see the procession to have a separatist nature.

The same emotions are shared by the protagonist's family in Derry Girls as they plan to spend the holiday at an Irish county in order to avoid the Orange walks altogether.

The Chernobyl Disaster

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded near the Ukrainian city of Pripyat, unleashing a wave of radiation that shook the world. As the Soviet Union attempted to suppress the news to avoid global backlash, over 31 people died while thousands faced the risk of radiation exposure. It was examined in Chernobyl , one of the best limited series of all time .

The aftermath of the incident is covered in a season 1 episode that covers an international exchange program at school. As a gesture to provide aid to Chernobyl's victims, several Ukrainian teenagers are allowed to arrive at Derry and temporarily stay with the students.

1994 Ceasefire

The IRA ceasefire of 1994 is celebrated by the townsfolk in the penultimate episode of season 2. For years, the Provisional IRA was resorting to military violence to meet its means. The outfit's chief belief was to unite all of Ireland as an independent republic free from British control. However, August 31, 1994 , marked the first of two ceasefires on their part as they committed themselves to enhance the democratic processes and restore peace.

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As Erin's family watches a new report explaining the ceasefire, they head out on the streets to find the entire town celebrating the declaration of peace. Their jubilation is understandable given how the Provisional IRA's clashes with British forces, mostly spelled out trouble for the locals in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Peacebuilding Student Programs

The debut episode of season 2 introduced Friends Across The Barricade, a peace initiative for the Catholic students of Derry and the Protestant students from a nearby boys' secondary school. In this scenario, Michelle and Erin see this as a chance to woo their assigned male 'buddies' but to no avail.

In a press interview, Lisa McGee revealed that this was directly inspired by a real-life incident in her school days. 'It was called Reach Across the Divide or something. It was not as bad as what I’ve written, but it was pretty bad. It was all about the boys because you fancied them, nothing about peace. You can imagine!'

Polar Bear Escape

In the same episode as the Take That concert, a polar bear is reported to have escaped from the Belfast Zoo leading to mass panic. An incident like this did actually happen, although in a different time period.

For unclear reasons, Belfast Zoo inhabitant, Peter the Polar Bear , went missing in 1972. His body was found in the same year and was then carried in a truck to be sent off for taxidermy. The procession of Peter's corpse still created history among locals who started floating all kinds of rumors. Today, Peter's body is preserved as an exhibit in the Ulster Museum.

The General Premise

As mentioned earlier, the Troubles had an adverse impact on the Irish populace especially in the 70s and the 80s. The show's premise deals with the after-effects as the Troubles showed some signs of ending by the late '90s as peace-making processes were underway.

This explains the security checks of vehicles and the general fear of violence as is evident from the TV news reports. Even the popular culture at the time was representative of this tense atmosphere. In the Carrie -style prom , "Zombie" by The Cranberries starts playing. The rock anthem was written as a protest song in response to the 1993 Provisional IRA's Warrington bombings that resulted in the death of two children.

Clare's Father Dies

While most of the events from Derry Girls that were inspired by real events focus on the political or cultural touchstones of Ireland at this time. One instance in the penultimate episode was drawn from more personal experiences.

The episode ends with Clare finding out that her beloved dad died of a brain aneurysm quite unexpectedly. The show's creator Lisa McGee revealed to Radio Times that this was based on a real instance of her friend suddenly losing her father which forced the group of friends to grow up quickly.

The Good Friday Agreement

Much of the series dealt with the uncertainty and violence within Ireland during the Troubles even as it remained a hilarious show. The finale incorporated a real-life event that gave hope of peace coming at last.

The finale finds the main characters all voting on the Good Friday Agreement which would serve as a peace agreement between the main opposing sides. The episode looks at the complexities and uncertainty of the agreement, and though it didn't completely end the violence, it leaves the show on a hopeful note.

NEXT: Derry Girls' The Main Characters, Ranked By Funniness

Which US Presidents have visited Ireland?

Seven different presidents have visited ireland while in office, including president john f. kennedy, who famously became the first serving president to visit ireland in 1963. .

May 23, 2011: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in Hayes Bar in Barack\\\'s ancestral home of Moneygall, Co Offaly.

US President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Ireland as president next week, but he is by no means the first sitting US President to visit the Emerald Isle. 

Seven different presidents have visited Ireland while in office, including President John F. Kennedy , who famously became the first serving president to visit Ireland in 1963. 

IrishCentral took a look at all of the previous presidential visits to Ireland ahead of Biden's visit in April. 

US President Joe Biden 🇺🇸 is coming Home to #Ireland 🇮🇪 Building on a rich history of US Presidents being welcomed to Ireland, bringing a message of Peace, Partnership & Prosperity 🤝 This is #GlobalIreland 🌍 🇮🇪 Info 👉 https://t.co/iJkENJjmJ1 @POTUS @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/JGTY6rWjYI — Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) April 5, 2023

John F. Kennedy

Kennedy greets the crowd during his visit to Ireland. Getty

Kennedy greets the crowd during his visit to Ireland. Getty

Kennedy's historic visit to Ireland took place in June 1963, just over four months before his assassination in Dallas the following November. 

JFK visited his ancestral homeland in County Wexford during the visit in addition to visiting Dublin, Galway, Cork, and Limerick. 

Kennedy also became the first foreign head of state to address the Dáil during the four-day visit, which he later referred to as "the best four days of his life". 

The four-day visit became one of the most important cultural events to take place in Ireland in the 1960s and helped solidify relations between Ireland and the United States. 

A US diplomat remarked that Ireland was "hoarse from cheering" by the time Kennedy left. 

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Richard Nixon

Nixon on October 3, 1970.

Nixon on October 3, 1970.

Richard Nixon undertook a three-day state visit to Ireland in October 1970, meeting with then-Taoiseach Jack Lynch.

Ireland changed dramatically in the seven years between Kennedy's homecoming and Nixon's visit, with student protests taking place in the street and the early days of the Troubles unfolding in Northern Ireland. 

Nixon paid his respects to his ancestors at a Quaker graveyard in County Kildare, but his visit was received with far less fanfare than Kennedy's seven years previous. 

Ronald Reagan

Reagan celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Reagan celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Neither Gerald Ford nor Jimmy Carter visited Ireland as President, meaning 14 years passed between Nixon's visit and the next presidential visit in June 1984 when Ronald Reagan made a five-day visit . 

Reagan met with Irish President Patrick Hillery and Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, while he also visited his ancestral homeland in Ballyporeen, County Tipperary. 

Nixon made an address in the village on June 3 and discussed the "Irish-American tradition". He later paid a visit to a local pub that had been renamed "The Ronald Reagan Lounge" in his honor. 

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Bill Clinton 

Bill Clinton meets Gerry Adams his visit to Northern Ireland in 1995. Public Domain

Bill Clinton meets Gerry Adams his visit to Northern Ireland in 1995. Public Domain

The first sitting president to visit Ireland on more than one occasion, Bill Clinton first visited Ireland in December 1995 after his historic visit to Derry before visiting again in September 1998 and December 2000. 

Clinton met with Irish President Mary Robinson and Taoiseach John Bruton during his first visit in 1995 and subsequently met with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern during his visit in September 1998. 

Clinton made several public addresses during his latter two visits and played an incredibly important role in the Northern Ireland peace process. 

George W Bush

George Bush and Bertie Ahern on St. Patrick's Day in 2002. Getty

George Bush and Bertie Ahern on St. Patrick's Day in 2002. Getty

Bush also visited Ireland on more than one occasion, visiting in June 2004 and again in February 2006. 

Neither of Bush's visits was an official state visit. 

He visited in 2004 to attend a EU-US summit in Dromoland Castle, briefly meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. 

The visit was marked by widespread protests against the war in Iraq. 

Bush only spent 12 hours in Ireland in February 2006, meeting with US Marines who had stopped at Shannon Airport en route to Iraq. 

Barack Obama 

May 23, 2011: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in Hayes Bar in Barack\'s ancestral home of Moneygall, Co Offaly.

May 23, 2011: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in Hayes Bar in Barack\'s ancestral home of Moneygall, Co Offaly.

Obama made a 24-hour state visit to Ireland in May 2011, visiting his ancestral homeland in Moneygall, County Offaly. 

Obama also met with President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Enda Kenny during the visit in addition to making a public address at College Green in Dublin. 

Obama's visit left a lasting legacy on Ireland and led to the creation of the infamous Barack Obama Plaza service station in County Offaly. 

Donald Trump 

Donald Trump meets Leo Varadkar in June 2019. Rolling News

Donald Trump meets Leo Varadkar in June 2019. Rolling News

Donald Trump spent a night in his golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare , after a state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019. 

Trump played a round of golf at his luxury hotel and met with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during the short visit. 

He also received a warm welcome from the residents of Doonbeg during his short stay in Ireland. 

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In ‘Derry Girls,’ the Lighter Side of Life in a Conflict Zone

The sitcom set in Northern Ireland takes place in a maelstrom of sectarian violence and adolescent angst. It’s funny, too.

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when did bill clinton visit derry

By Alice Jones

LONDON — When Lisa McGee was 13, she wrote a letter to Chelsea Clinton. It was November 1995, and President Bill Clinton was scheduled to visit the city of Derry in a show of support for Northern Ireland’s peace process. It would be the first time a sitting president of the United States had come to the troubled region.

In an interview, McGee, the creator of “Derry Girls,” recalled that she saw an opportunity to make a new friend. So she wrote to the president’s daughter to invite her to see a film at the city’s Strand movie theater.

“She never replied,” said McGee, now 38. “The innocence of that. Living in this place that’s violent and scary, but we were these eejits running about writing letters to Chelsea Clinton.”

That missed connection makes it into the final episode of the second season of “Derry Girls,” the hit sitcom that streams on Netflix from Aug. 2. But, in a tweak to history, the show’s Catholic schoolgirl heroines — Erin, Orla, Clare and Michelle — invite Chelsea Clinton to sample the wave machine at the local pool instead. (“I hope she remembers her swimming cap,” Orla worries. “They’ve got dead strict ...”)

In the “Derry Girls” universe, the mundane and the profound sit side by side. Cease-fires, bombings and kidnapping are given equal narrative weight to teen crushes, field trips and visits to the chip shop , which is to say that they are barely given weight at all.

In the first episode of the first season, a character is distraught at news of a bomb on a bridge, because it means she can’t get to the tanning salon. In a subsequent scene, when the girls’ school bus is stopped by British soldiers, one of them stares down the barrel of their machine guns — and flirts . In the second series, a scuffle at school prom is intercut with euphoric street scenes following the 1994 cease-fire by the Irish Republican Army.

McGee based the show on her own experience of growing up in Derry. The city, which is also called Londonderry by unionists who want the region to remain part of the United Kingdom , was a unique maelstrom of sectarian violence and adolescent angst in the 1990s.

She remembered key events in “the Troubles,” as the conflict was called, “like they were yesterday,” she said: the 1994 cease-fire, Mr. Clinton’s visit and the 1998 Omagh bombing. “But a lot of it for me was just having to go a different way to school because of a bomb scare,” she said.

“Derry Girls” debuted on Channel 4 in Britain in January 2018 and was an instant hit: It became the most watched television show in Northern Ireland since records began in 2002, with a 64 percent audience share. On Netflix, it attracted a global audience, including from India, Pakistan, Mexico and the United States .

In April 2018, Gleann Doherty, a tour operator in Derry, added a “Derry Girls” guided walk to his repertoire. A 90-minute tour around the show’s locations, it was particularly popular with fans from the United States, Canada and New Zealand, he said in a telephone interview, adding that many international viewers said they watched the show with subtitles to decode the accent and slang.

“It’s now my second most popular tour, after the Bogside tour,” Doherty said. “Now for every ticket I sell for the City Walls tour, I sell five for ‘Derry Girls.’”

The show has been commissioned by Channel 4 for a third series, which McGee is writing now. In time, she said, she would like to take the story up to the Good Friday Agreement that ended the conflict in 1998.

What makes “Derry Girls” unique is the light touch it uses to deal with the heavy hand of history. “We couldn’t present that dreary Northern Ireland again, where it’s always men in leather jackets, everything’s gray and nobody has a sense of humor,” McGee said.

Seamas O’Reilly, a writer whose memoir about growing up in Derry in the 1990s, “Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?,” will be published in March 2020, called the show “the first bit of good publicity that Derry has had in 20 years.”

“It shows it as a very boring, normal, mundane place — with teenagers, discos and funny neighbors,” he said. “It’s not like Sarajevo with everyone sleeping on sandbags. It captures very well that Derry is a chirpy, well-meaning place but it also has a legacy of so much trauma.”

The second series ends with archive footage of Mr. Clinton’s 1995 speech in Derry: “You have so much more to gain by working together than by drifting apart. Have the patience to work for a just and lasting peace.”

It was a deliberate choice, McGee said, in the light of the current turmoil in Northern Ireland over Britain’s impending departure from the European Union, known as Brexit.

Derry is on the border with the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the bloc; and in the 2016 referendum, 78 percent of voters in Foyle, the parliamentary district that contains Derry, favored remaining in the European Union. Many fear that the return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will inflame sectarian tensions and threaten stability.

“There’s always a belief in your head, when you’re from there, that it could turn, because you’ve seen it turn before,” McGee said. “It’s made me double down on how important peace is.”

The killing of Lyra McKee , a journalist, by a dissident republican group called the New I.R.A. during riots in the Creggan housing estate in April was a grim marker of the city’s current problems and the dangerous disaffection they can breed. Foyle has an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent , more than twice the average in Northern Ireland. In 2017, Derry was listed last of 57 United Kingdom cities surveyed by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in its “ Good Growth for Cities ” report.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the people of Derry this angry,” McGee said of the aftermath of the murder. “There was a very clear message being sent: that we weren’t going back.”

The famous mural in the city that reads “You are now entering Free Derry” and features in the opening scenes of “Derry Girls” was graffitied with the word s “Not in our name. RIP Lyra” in the days after the shooting.

“To paint over a dissident republican slogan is a very, very brave thing to do,” McGee said. “And it’s ordinary people doing it. That has never happened before. ”

The city has a new mural now, too. In January, a 30-foot-high painting of the sitcom’s lead characters was painted on the side of Badgers Bar on Orchard Street. It’s where Doherty ends his “Derry Girls” tour, and it has become a magnet for tourists and a symbol of pride for city dwellers.

“I’m just determined to tell positive stories about where I come from,” McGee said. “What happened in Creggan that night — nobody wanted it, the people who did it represent nobody. I feel it’s my responsibility to show Derry for what it really is.”

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The Heartwarming Story Behind Chelsea Clinton's Derry Girls Cameo

The Heartwarming Story Behind Chelsea Clinton's Derry Girls Cameo

Featured Image Credit: Channel 4

Derry Girls ’ creator Lisa McGee has revealed the real-life inspiration behind Chelsea Clinton's unexpected cameo in the show's final-ever episode.

Watch the moment below:

The Channel 4 series came to a rather emotional end as each of the girls cast their votes in the local polling station for the monumental 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendum.

Viewers watched as the girls strolled out together while a newscaster was heard announcing: "Yes – 71.12%. A record-breaking turnout and an overwhelming majority. The people of Northern Ireland have spoken. The country has just taken its first step into the future."

But as blubbering fans tried to gather themselves after the heartwarming conclusion, they were caught off-guard by a post-credits scene starring none other than Chelsea Clinton.

The daughter of Bill and Hilary Clinton was seen in 'Present Day New York' accepting a letter that had been sent to her years earlier, but had been lost in the post for two decades.

Chelsea Clinton appeared in the show's final moments. Credit: Channel 4

She opens the letter to find a letter written by Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and Orla McCool (Louisa Clare Harland), inviting her to hang out with them when her family came to visit Derry back in 1995.

The letter, which the teens wrote in the series two finale ‘The President’, is signed off with the words: “We think your hair is absolutely cracker.”

And while many may believe the cameo came out of nowhere, the show’s creator and executive producer Lisa McGee revealed that Chelsea’s appearance was inspired by her own teenage years.

This final ever episode of Derry Girls aired on Tuesday (May 17). Credit: Channel 4

The showrunner explained that she wrote a letter to Chelsea in 1995 when President Bill Clinton was scheduled to visit the city of Derry in a show of support for Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Speaking to the New York Times , the 38-year-old said she wrote to the president’s daughter to invite her to see a film at the city’s Strand movie theatre.

McGee, who was just 13 when she wrote to Chelsea, added: “She never replied.

“The innocence of that. Living in this place that’s violent and scary, but we were these eejits running about writing letters to Chelsea Clinton.”

Lisa McGee revealed the cameo was inspired by an experience in her teenage years. Credit: Alamy

Speaking about the moment again at a Channel 4 preview, McGee said that she originally wrote the cameo into the script to amuse herself – and was left stunned when Chelsea agreed to starring in the finale.

She said: “The more we talked about it – me and Mike [Lennox], the director – I was like, ‘F*** it, let’s try.

“It was a manager in America who used to work for the Clintons. And she acted as this middle-woman for us. Then she rang me one night and was just like, ‘Chelsea is in’. And I was like, ‘Oh my god!’”

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Irish America

Irish America

Clinton’s Irish TRIUMPH

November 25, 2020 by Leave a Comment

when did bill clinton visit derry

On November 30, 1995, US President Bill Clinton made a historic visit to Northern Ireland. 

By Brian Rohan

No American president could have dreamed it better: a clear, crisp night after seven days of rain: 100,000 Catholics and Protestants gathered outside Belfast City Hall, not for an angry protest but rather a peaceful celebration; warm-up act by Belfast’s native son and favorite musician, Van Morrison; and grown men and women shedding tears of joy in front of the world’s media. All there for one reason: Bill Clinton. 

It was the night of November 30, and Clinton, the first U.S. president ever to visit Northern Ireland, was in Belfast to turn on the Christmas tree. The town was in its 15th month of ceasefire, for which Clinton found himself recipient of much credit. One woman held up a sign reading, “Welcome Mr. Clinton, Angel of Peace.”  

Bosnia, Whitewater and Newt Gingrich must have seemed light-years away.  

As New York Times op-ed writer Maureen Dowd put it, “The irish gave [Clinton] the best two days of his presidency. It was the presidency Bill Clinton had dreamed of but never experienced.”  

Naturally, every step of the trip had been choreographed, down to the President’s diplomatic choice of colors when buying apples at a Shankill Road fruit stand: two red and two green. And the thousands of American flags which greeted Clinton at every stop were no accident either: the White House advance team saw to it that for every news camera there was at least one flag, maybe two.  

Still, even Clinton’s harshest critics and the most jaded of journalists were amazed at the genuine outpouring of love for an American President in a land which had failed to embrace one on this scale since Jack Kennedy.  

“It’s a great day, an amazing day,” said Peter King, a Republican party Congressman from Long Island and a normally-staunch critic of the Clinton Administration. King, who has visited Ireland at least a dozen times since the 1970s, told reporters as he looked out on the crowd in Belfast, “There are people here who two years ago were killing each other. I mean literally killing each other It’s amazing.”  

Every step of Clinton’s trip was planned to underline the importance of holding the peace, something which the current administration has made a priority since May 1992, when Clinton the candidate vowed to a group of Irish American leaders in New York that, if elected, he would reverse the laissez-faire attitude by successive American governments toward Ireland.  

The Northern Ireland trip was the finishing touch on a process begun almost two years previously when, in January 1993, months before there was even a hint of an IRA ceasefire, Clinton defied the British Government as well s many in his own State Department and granted Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams a visitor’s visa to the U.S.  

Now, with the ceasefire seemingly solid and hints of a political process growing, Clinton’s decision didn’t seem as ill-conceived as his critics had proclaimed.  

“If President Clinton had listened to the likes of me, he never would have seen his Irish triumph,” wrote Mary McGrory, an influential columnist for the Washington Post. “I was one of those who thought he was mad to let in Gerry Adams, the IRA propagandist. But he paid no attention to us. Adams was the key, and last week, Clinton brought genuine joy to Belfast, one of the planet’s most cheerless sites.”  

At Mackie’s, a textile factory in west Belfast which had been chosen because of its religiously-integrated workforce, Clinton told a crowd of several thousand Protestants and Catholics that they must continue to hold the peace.  

“You must stand firm against terror,” he said. “You, the vast majority, must not allow the ship of peace to sink on the rocks of old habits and hard grudges. …  

“You must say to those who still would use violence for political objectives: you are the past, your day is over.”  

The message would be driven home at every stage of the two-day trip. In Derry, a much different city than it was in the late-1960s, where desperate social conditions led to civil rights marches and, in 1972, to the tragedy of Bloody Sunday, the President pledged his commitment to further economic development and assistance: “I pledge that we will do all we can through the International Fund for Ireland and in many ways to ease your load.”  

Afterward, inside the Guildhall, the President and Mrs. Clinton dedicated a new chair at the University of Ulster in honor of the late Speaker of the House, Thomas (“Tip”) O’Neill.  

And in Dublin, where a crowd of 80,000 at the College Green on Friday, December 1, were determined to try and better the crowd enthusiasm up north, Clinton said, “To all of you who asked me to do what I could to help peace take root, I pledge you America’s support. We will stand with you as you take risks for peace.”  

when did bill clinton visit derry

Those risks for peace were never so apparent as when, on December 7, five days after Clinton left Ireland, the IRA released a rare statement in which the request that its arms be surrendered was called “ludicrous.” The statement was in response to a hastily-engineered agreement by British Prime Minister John Major and Republic of Ireland Taoiseach (Prime Minister) John Bruton on the eve of Clinton’s three-day trip to London, Belfast and Derry; the agreement called for an Americanled neutral body to seek the decommissioning of the IRA and its loyalist counterparts, separately from any political talks.  

This agreement, which critics charged was a “fudge” aimed at appeasing headline-hungry White House Staffers, had nonetheless been viewed as a huge triumph for the Clinton Administration, which sought to place Clinton ally and former Senator George Mitchell at the head of the new decommissioning body. Patrick Sloyan, the Pulitzer Prize – winning Newsday reporter, wrote, “[Clinton] appeared dynamic and skillful in London, where Prime Minister John major conceded leadership to Clinton on two issues that have defied solution: Bosnia and Ulster. Both Major and Prime Minister John Bruton picked former Senator George Mitchell, a Democrat from Maine, to head commission charged with talking the IRA and the Protestant paramilitaries into turning over at least some of their weapons by the end of February. In doing so, Major and Bruton ceded to Washington responsibility for ending The Troubles in Ulster.”  

By December 7, however, the IRA as well as the British Government made it clear that a solution would not come so easily. The IRA oppose the surrender of its arms before Sinn Fein’s inclusion in all-party talks, but the British Government and most unionist politicians refuse to hold such talks with Sinn Fein until the IRA has surrendered arms.  

Regardless, all of Ireland seemed to be inspired by Clinton’s visit that perhaps there is a way out of the impasse. As Irish America goes to press, the commission led by Mitchell has been holding meetings, and it is hoped there will be some movement before the intended staging of all-party talks in late February.  

“Those who do show the courage to break with the past,” said Clinton during his speech at Mackie’s, making a thinlyveiled reference to Sinn Fein and the IRA, “are entitled to their stake in the future.”  

This comment received one of the very few outbursts of negativity during the Clinton visit – the shout of “Never!” from a member of the audience, Mr. Cedric Wilson of the Reverend Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). With this exception, Clinton’s message, that “engaging in honest dialogue is not an act of surrender, it is an act of strength and common sense,” seems to have taken hold even in some of Ireland’s more resistant pockets of distrust.  

“Surely,” said that President, referring to the 25 years of violence in a tone that was a confident as it was hopeful, “there is no going back.”  

President Clinton ended his visit to Derry City by formally inaugurating the Thomas P.O’Neill Visiting Chair in Peace Studies, sponsored by the American Ireland Fund through a $250,000 grant, as a tribute to the former Speaker of the House. The Chair is part of a joint United Nations University and University of Ulster initiative for the study of ethnic conflict and resolution.  

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd inside the Guildhall, the President recalled that “Tip O’Neill was fundamentally a man of the people – a bricklayer’s son who became the most powerful person in Congress and our nation’s most powerful champion for working families.  

“Speaker O’Neill,” he said, “was a good friend of the cause of peace in Ireland. Though sorely missed he will be long remembered, and the O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies will be a fitting tribute to his long life and legacy. For Tip O’Neill knew that peace must be nurtured by a deeper understanding among people and greater economic opportunity for all.”  

The President ended the inauguration ceremony by issuing a challenge to the people of Derry to set an example to the rest of the world: “American has always been about three great things,” the President said, “love of liberty, belief in progress, and unity. And the last is by far the most difficult and is a continual challege for us – I pray through this chair and through your example you will become a model for the rest of the world, because the world will always need models for peace.”  

The Little Girl Who Stole the Show

when did bill clinton visit derry

Only one person received better press than Bill Clinton during the presidential visit to Ireland in November – a chubby-cheeked, 9-year-old Catholic girl who stole the show at the scene of one of Clinton’s major speeches.  

Before the President’s speech at Mackie’s, a west Belfast textile factory celebrated for its religiously-integrated workforce, the 9-year-old, Catherine Hamill, read from a school contest-winning essay which asked, “What does peace mean to you?”  

“My first daddy died in the Troubles,” said Catherine in a direct, unwavering Belfast voice, to a hused audience of several thousand. “It was the saddest day of my life.  

“Now it is nice and peaceful,” she continued. “I like having peace and quiet for a change instead of people shooting and killing. My Christmas wish is that peace and love will last in Ireland forever.”  

There were few dry eyes in the house. Even John White, a loyalist leader who spent two decades in prison for killing a Catholic man and the man’s Protestant girlfriend, was seen wiping away tears.  

Catherine’s speech occurred only five hours into the President’s two-day Irish visit, yet for the duration of his stay he repeatedly recalled “that beautiful child,” and how his own speeches, in the wake of hers, seemed “superfluous.”  

Hamill’s father, Patrick, was killed by two masked loyalists who burst into their west Belfast home on September 8, 1987, when Catherine was less than a year old. “They weren’t looking for anyone in particular,” explained Catherine’s mother, Laura Hamill.  

“They just wanted a Catholic man, and we’re so near to their area. They shot Patrick in the head, neck and chest right in front of me.”  

A 10-year-old Protestant schoolboy, David Sterrett, also read from his essay, which read in part, “[Peace] means I can play in the park without worrying about getting shot.”  

But it was acknowledged by all that Catherine was the star of this show. Two weeks after President Clinton turned on the Christmas tree lights in her hometown, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper, Virgin Airways and the Fitzpatrick Hotel chain flew Catherine and her family to U.S. to be among the Clinton’s invited guests at the tree-lighting ceremony at the White House. ♣

This article by Brian Rohan originally appeared in the February 1996 issue of Irish America.

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when did bill clinton visit derry

Bill Clinton and wife Hillary stayed at world's most bombed hotel against White House advice

H illary Clinton said she and her husband Bill Clinton defied advice from the White House during their first trip to Northern Ireland and stayed at the world’s most bombed hotel .

The former First Lady and Secretary of State visited Belfast with then-president Bill Clinton in November 1995 to lend their support for an end to the Troubles and to encourage a peace agreement.

They stayed at the Europa Hotel, which is known as the world's most bombed hotel, having been targeted 33 times between 1970 and 1994. President Clinton made history by becoming the first sitting US President to visit Northern Ireland .

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Mrs Clinton said Bill Clinton insisted on staying at the Europa Hotel during their first trip to Northern Ireland .

She said: “The first time I went to Northern Ireland was in 1995 with my husband to see whether and to sort of test the waters whether there was any appetite for the United States playing a role in trying to bring the parties together for some negotiation.

“And we had the great delight and honor of turning on the Christmas tree lights at the City Hall in Belfast in front of an absolutely enormous crowd.

“Hundreds of thousands of people who turned out, many with their small children on their shoulders or in their arms, which said more to me than anything could about their hopefulness.

“And we stayed in the part of the Europa Hotel that was not currently bombed and it was quite an experience to show up at the hotel we were staying in and see about half of it boarded up because it had been recently bombed.

“I knew that the White House had tried to persuade my husband to stay somewhere else. And he said, ‘No, we're going to stay in the part of the Europa that's not bombed’.

“So it was quite an introduction to Belfast and the beginning of a very important relationship, certainly in my life going forward.”

Mrs Clinton said the negotiators of the Good Friday Agreement showed strength and courage throughout the Northern Ireland peace process.

Speaking at Women and Peacebuilding: Reflections from Northern Ireland , organized in partnership with Queens University Belfast, at Columbia University in New York, she said: “It's really hard and who wants to sit in a room with people who have killed people you know or who bombed places that you remember. Who wants to do that?

“It takes an extraordinary amount of not just personal fortitude, but a sense of courage to take that risk.

“George Mitchell once said that, like for the first year, if he could get people in the same room, that was a miracle, and then they wouldn't talk to each other.

“And if they said anything, he had to repeat it. They wouldn't hear it from the other side.”

Mrs Clinton also said Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley, of the Democratic Unionist Party, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Fein, became friends after they agreed to share power in Northern Ireland in 2007.

US President George Bush hosted the leaders at the White House in December 2007. Mrs Clinton said: “They (Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness) came on a trip to the United States and it was truly like the Ian and Martin Show. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“The two of them were finishing each other’s sentences and telling jokes. It was impossible to imagine that just a few years before. Part of it is building that trust, working together.”

Mrs Clinton also said every leader in the world has a duty to become a peacemaker and a peacebuilder.

Bill and Hillary Clinton welcomed to Belfast's Europa hotel by same concierge from 1995 visit

In pictures: Past visits of US presidents to Northern Ireland

She said: “We all need to be encouraged and we need to be reassured but we also need to be challenged that there are many more things we all could be doing to try to make a difference and to try to be as best we can as peacemakers and peacebuilders.

“Learn from what happened, and then try to figure out what we can do now and do it in a way that brings people together and not further divides us.”

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .

Hillary said Bill Clinton went against the White House's advice not to stay at the Europa Hotel in Belfast

IMAGES

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