A CELEBRATION OF HOPE

By BARRY HILLENBRAND/BELFAST

THE CITIZENS OF BELFAST GATHERED in Donegall Square last week to stand in the cold wind and hearken to the words of a man making an unprecedented visit. "It's truly grand. I've never seen anything like this before," said Paul Thomas. "Everybody's come together." Indeed they had, by the tens of thousands, Protestant and Catholic, Unionist and Republican. They carried babies, waved flags and cheered with abandon when Bill Clinton, the first American President ever to visit Northern Ireland, flipped the switch that lit up a 49-ft. white pine Christmas tree, flown in from Nashville, Tennessee, the sister city of Belfast.

Last week's trip produced the most electrifying moments before a crowd that Clinton has ever experienced as President. The phenomenon resulted in part from the personality and heritage of the man himself (Clinton's mother was named Virginia Cassidy), to which the Irish responded with instinctive enthusiasm. Then too he brought a stirring message about putting aside the hatred between Catholics and Protestants that over the years has caused the violent death of some 3,000. Clinton made a promise. "To all of you who asked me to do what I could to help peace take root, I pledge you America's support," he said. "We will stand with you as you take risks for peace."

Clinton has already taken a role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, and that also explains the joy and gratitude expressed during his visit. In February 1994, he annoyed the British by granting a visa to Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, to visit the U.S. Among Irish nationalists, Clinton is considered a hero for that gesture alone. Clinton devoted himself to the Northern Ireland issue, and ultimately pressure from the Administration and from Irish Americans led Adams to persuade the ira to call a cease-fire. When it was declared in August 1994, Clinton could claim a small share of the credit.

The prospect of the President's arrival in Belfast last week was itself a spur toward peace. Clinton's visit helped "concentrate the mind," in the words of British Prime Minister John Major, and thereby sparked a sudden agreement that gave the peace process renewed momentum.

Barely two hours before Air Force One left Washington on Tuesday, Ireland's Prime Minister John Bruton arrived in London for an unexpected late-night news conference with Major. The two leaders announced a twin-track initiative to get the peace talks moving again. The hangup had been British insistence that the ira begin turning in its guns and explosives before Sinn Fein could join all-party talks aimed at creating a new governmental structure for the North. The ira had steadfastly refused.

Under the new agreement, a panel headed by George Mitchell, the former majority leader of the U.S. Senate, will try to devise a plan to solve the problem of arms decommissioning. At the same time, London and Dublin will hold preliminary consultations to prepare for full, all-party talks by late February. This may seem like a fudge, and that is what some are calling it. "I see no purpose whatsoever in trying to pretend difficulties and difference do not exist," said Bruton. "They do exist." But, he added, the initiative was a mechanism aimed at "overcoming and transcending those difficulties."

Despite the difficulties in achieving a permanent settlement, the 15 months since the cease-fire have seen a transformation in Northern Ireland. Belfast, for years a killing ground, provides some of the most dramatic evidence of change. Bombings, shootings and violence there used to be normal, everyday events, like delivering the milk or walking the dog. Now the streets are quiet, and the British soldiers who once patrolled them in full battle dress are gone. Gone too are the ubiquitous roadblocks and checkpoints. "People are trying to put those things behind them," said Chris McGimpsey, a Protestant councilor. "We are entering a new era."

A hallmark of this era is that opponents are actually talking to one another for the first time. While in Belfast, Clinton held a reception at which even the leaders of the smaller and more militant Unionist parties, people with strong links to the Protestant paramilitaries, were sharing canapes and drinks with Catholic leaders who only 15 months ago were their bitterest enemies. Clinton met with all the major Catholic and Protestant leaders and paid tribute to their efforts at holding the cease-fire. He spoke for 25 minutes with the Rev. Ian Paisley, the sour patriarch of Protestant unionism.

The new spirit was expressed most eloquently by a Catholic girl, Catherine Hamill, who read Clinton a letter of welcome on Thursday morning. On the night of Sept. 8, 1987, when she was 11 months old, two Protestant gunmen burst through the front door of her Belfast home and shot her father dead. At the time, she was being held by her mother, who was watching television. "My first daddy died in the Troubles," she recalled. "It was the saddest day of my life. Now it is nice and peaceful. 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."