CONGRESSMAN WALSH WELCOMES NORTHERN IRELAND’S FIRST MINISTER

AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER TO CAPITOL HILL

Historic Joint Visit to the U.S. by Dr. Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness is First for New Government

(Washington D.C.)- Congressman Jim Walsh, Co-Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Ireland in the U.S. House of Representatives, co-hosted a working lunch in the U.S. Capitol Building yesterday with Congressman Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Ian Paisley, and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

A bipartisan group of nearly twenty Members of the U.S. House of Representatives attended the lunch briefing to welcome the First Minister and deputy First Minister to Capitol Hill on their historic first visit to the United States. The success of the power-sharing government and securing direct U.S. investment in Northern Ireland were the main topics of discussion during the meeting.

“Many doubted that such a day would ever come to pass,” said Walsh. “The formation of the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland and this historic joint visit serve as a powerful testament to what hope and persistence can do.”

The two leaders will also meet with President Bush at the White House on Friday, December 7.

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