George Bush showed little interest in Ireland but was focused on Iraq prior to 9/11

News Snapshot:

Bertie Ahern, then taoiseach, giving then US president George W Bush a bowl of shamrock during a White House ceremony on St Patrick’s Day in 2006. There were concerns in 2001 that the shamrock ceremony might be discontinued during Bush’s tenure. Photograph: Leslie E Kossoff/LK Photos Bertie Ahern was left in no doubt at his first White House meeting with George W Bush that the new president had little interest in Northern Ireland and would adopt a far more hands-off approach than his predecessor Bill Clinton. Ahern met Bush in the Oval Office on March 16th, 2001, ahead of the...