Last Monday was perhaps the most interesting day I have had so far on the Washington Ireland Program. When I say ‘interesting’, I mean interesting ‘informative’ not ‘interesting’ being stranded somewhere in Maryland with no buses or money interesting… ahem.
Mark Shields, veteran political commentator from PBS; Harold Ickes, former deputy Chief-of-Staff for Bill Clinton and highly esteemed campaign mogul, Dotty Lynch, former Senior Political Editor for CBS and South African journalist Denis Stauton.
Having an hour to spend listening to those who have not only succeeded in their field, but propelled themselves to the front-line of the political sphere was really an honor.
Shields and Ickes, in particular, were very sharp and witty and Lynch’s intelligence and experience were mesmerizing.
That evening, we went to St Albans School where we had dinner and a mock debate with some high school students from a different leadership program. Although the kids were very nice and funny, it was odd to see the huge differences between the Irish and American culture for young people. Also, their maturity levels were a lot higher than our own, but I say, if you can’t beat up a fellow WIPer with a giant dog teddy at 21, when can you?
On Wednesday, we were informed that we would be meeting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. As there was nothing good on telly and the fridge was empty, I decided I might as well head down for a gander. In the beautiful, distinguished settings of Russell Senate Office Building, we eagerly awaited the former-first-lady. Smaller and more striking than T.V makes out, Ms Clinton gave a short speech and we had our photo taken with her. It is amazing the opportunities that you have in this city. Although the visit was short, I was really impressed! If this had happened in Ireland, we would all be completely in shock-wide-eyed and flabbergasted, but as this is such an everyday experience in D.C., we contained ourselves with our mere – wait for it- ex-hillary-tion.
Later on Wednesday, we had the congressional forum. Lauren, Fiona McC, Luke, Catherine and Laura spoke competently and fluidly about the Ireland of Today to a packed room of buffet-cruisers and congress persons. With nine members of congress showing up, including Crowley, Paine, Kennedy, Senator Walsh to name a few, we were all exceptionally pleased.
We went for celebratory drinks and dancing in ‘Poor bar” or whatever it’s called. Hundreds of dollars spent on the duke box and hours of throwing awkward shapes on the dance floor, we headed home.
On Friday, our alarms cruelly dragged us from our beds ungodly hours for a godly breakfast. The Catholic Business Breakfast was a lovely event and Fiona ‘the Buggy’ Buggy, Chris Andrews, Aoibhinn O’Hare and Peter Mannion spoke with emotion and truth that was startling. Afterwards we had a retreat, or indeed ‘sunbathe’ as some like to call it. We managed to talk a bit about Martin Luther King and leadership roles, but the ethos of the day was definitely ‘hippy chic’. After lunch, we went to Pentagon City, discovered we have no money, and slunk off home to pack for NYC!
