“WE WANT BILL”
Joan McGuinness chats to Olivia Ryan about introducing the President to the people of Dundalk
‘Dundalk really was emerging out of the dark days into a bright new future,’ says Joan McGuinness as she recalls the historic night when US President Bill Clinton came to town.
‘It was such an incredible night, the atmosphere was amazing, I’ll never forget it.’
Joan had the honour, or perhaps the difficult task, of introducing the President to the podium, but not before she faced an impatient crowd.
‘I remember I was speaking..... and the chants ‘We want Bill’ and all I wanted to do was get to the good bit, the main event, and welcome President Clinton, because that’s the only person people wanted to hear from that night!’
It’s been twenty years, but she still recalls the tense few moments when she struggled to get a standing step in place at the microphone.
‘I just remember that there had been someone a lot taller speaking before I came on, and there was this little step there that I could pull out to stand on so I could reach the mic, but it wouldn’t move! I didn’t know what to do. I finally got it, but President Clinton had already got up out of his seat to help me, he was the only person on stage who got up to help actually!’
A photograph emerged of Joan sharing a laugh onstage with the President and the First Lady, Hilary Clinton, which she adds: ‘I’m almost certain was about the step!’
‘I don’t have the speech anymore, but I know the tone of it was very much on how Dundalk was emerging out of the dark days. How we had struggled, but with the peace dividend we could see a way forward. You really could see a change in the town at that time, the hope that was there.’
Joan was part of a new wave of industry emerging at the turn of the century, working then at the very first business which opened at the new Regional Development Centre at DkIT.
‘It was a tech start up business, involved in geographic information systems, and it was good as a woman to be chosen to represent a new wave of business She had been asked to ‘put some context’, she recalls, on the impact of peace in Northern Ireland on the border counties.
‘I only spoke for a few moments beforehand, and was so privileged to be able to introduce the President. It was an unbelievable honour.’
Reflecting on the hope that reigned that night, and the two decades which have passed since then, she adds: ‘I was just thinking recently of how much Dundalk has come through as a town, not alone this year with Coronavirus, but with all of the challenges we have faced in our history, and I know we’ll come through this as well.’
‘My heart goes out to all the small businesses in town, who are struggling so much in the current environment. We have to hold on to any hope that we can, because that’s what brings us through.’
‘My motivation from the very start on hearing of President Clinton’s visit was that Dundalk had to put its best foot forward for this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to highlight the potential of the town and the county’.
That was the overriding incentive of the many involved in preparing for the visit in December, 2000 according to John Quivlivan who was Louth County Manager at the time.
Speaking this week from Wexford where he is now retired, the former County Manager revealed that Dundalk had to hold off competition from Kilkenny to welcome the President.
‘Everything was very hush, hush in the lead up to the visit and there was no mention of the visit in the media when, about two weeks before the date, I was invited to accompany a number of US Senators, the President’s Secret Service, and other US Embassy officials on a bus tour of the Dundalk’ the Manager recalled.
They let it be known that Dundalk was in competition with Kilkenny as a possible venue for the visit, but the Manager always believed that the presence of Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Dermot Ahern in the Louth constituency and the proximity of the border would sway the decision.
‘Naturally there was great excitement when the announcement was made’ Mr. Quinlivan recalled, but he added ‘it also presented us with a massive logistical challenge to complete the arrangements in a matter of a few weeks.
‘What I remember most about all that was the common sense approach taken by everyone, for we all wanted to maximise the visit for the people of Dundalk and the county” he remembered.
In that task the County Manager got great support from his County Engineer, Tony Kieran, senior engineer, Mark O’Callaghan and the Arts Officer Brian Harten as well as the Army, Gardai, his own staff, Harp Lager who made their bar facilities available and DkIT who provided canteen for the hundreds involved in security on the day.
‘When a problem emerged, it was immediately solved’ according to Mr.
Quinlivan who added that problems like sealing manholes, removing traffic lights and islands, and other unexpected security concerns were instantly overcome.
Much of this work was at the behest of the President’s Secret Service team who spent weeks in Dundalk, but Mr. Quinlivan recalled that while they were ‘ tough people to deal with’ they were very practical and prepared to work alongside others to ensure that the event went off smoothly.
It helped, according to Mr. Quinlivan, that the local officials were prepared to do whatever was asked from them to ensure the safety of the President and his family.
Having ensured that all the work was complete in time, the former County
Manager revealed that two considerable problems surfaced just before the visit.
One involved the composition of the VIP party of the massive stage erected in Earl Street from which the President would address the 60,000 crowd, and the second involved the manner in which the President would travel to Dundalk.
‘All I can say about the VIP party on stage that it presented me with challenges that I never previously encountered, and I will only add that it gave me a very interesting and different perspective on such matters’.
Regarding the President’s trip to Dundalk, Mr. Quinlivan said that it was intended that Mr. Clinton would travel in one of his own helicopters specially flown into Ireland for the visit, but at the very last moment it emerged that because of fog and mist it would be unsafe for the helicopter to fly to Dundalk.
‘What are we going to do now’ was the reaction of all involved and after a hurried discussion it was decided that the President would be driven to Dundalk via the unfinished MI.
‘It took some organisation, and fair play to the National Road Authority for they cooperated fully in ensuring that construction obstacles were all removed in time to allow the President’s motorcade to pass’ recalled Mr. Quinlivan who added that President Clinton could be said to have opened the MI as he was the first to travel it.
Mr. Quinlivan got to meet the President, his wife, Hillary and daughter, Chelsea at the reception hosted by Barry Reddan after the speeches in the nearby First National offices in the Queens Hotel.
‘ They were very gracious and delighted with the reception that they received in Dundalk’ remembered the Manager who added that they chatted to everyone and went to great lengths to thank everyone for all the work they had put into the visit.
The cost of preparing for the visit was never a factor according to Mr. Quinlivan ‘we knew that it had to be done right from the start for this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the town and the county. We did get some financial help from the government, but that was never a consideration’.
Finally regarding the entertainment provided for the massive crowd that waited hours for the President to arrive, Mr. Quinlivan revealed that when Brian Harten included the Dundalk Samba Band in the list of artistes he did’t agree.
However he observed ‘ they were great like everything else on the night’.
Everything was very hush, hush in the lead up to the visit and there was no mention of the visit in the media
Former County Manager John Quinlivan reflects