The Roundtable discussion was chaired and moderated by Brendan O'Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science and Director of the Penn Program in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania

Listen to an .MP3 recording of the discussion (also available on podcast): Part 1/ Part 2

Bruce Morrison, Andrew Sens, John McGarry, Deaglán de Braédún, Brendan O'Leary

Participants

Deaglán de Braédún is the Foreign Affairs Correspondent and former Northern Editor of The Irish Times. He is the author of The Far Side of Revenge, Making Peace in Northern Ireland (Collins Press 2001).

Shelley Deane is Assistant Professor of Government at Bowdoin college, where she focuses on International Relations, Comparative Politics, Middle East Politics, Irish Politics, Political Violence, Factionalism, Ethnic Conflicts, Civil Wars, Peace Processes, Security Studies, Bargaining, and Negotiation. She is co-author of "From Belfast to Bosnia: Piecemeal Peacemaking and the Role of Institutional Learning," published in Civil Wars (Autumn 2005).

John McGarry is a poitical scientist from Northern Ireland. He was born in Belfast and grew up in Ballymena, County Antrim. He is currently Professor of Political Studies and Canada Research Chair in Nationalism and Democracy at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He is the author of numerous influential books about the Northern Ireland conflict, many of them co-authored with Brendan O'Leary, whom he met when they both attended Saint MacNissi's college. McGarry and O'Leary's Policing Northern Ireland: Proposals for a New Start (Blackstaff Press, 1999) is considered to have had a significant influence on the work of the Independent Commission for Policing for Northern Ireland. He currently sits on the advisory council of the Centre for Democracy.

Bruce Morrison is a former Congressman from Connecticut. As a member of the group Irish Americans for Clinton-Gore (later the nonpartisan Americans for a New Irish Agenda), Morrison became involved in the Irish peace process.

With Irish Voice publisher Niall O'Dowd, Morrison acted as a key intermediary between Gerry Adams' Sinn Féin, the White House, and the Fianna Fáil government led by Albert Reynolds. Morrison, O'Dowd, and Bill Flynn (former CEO of Mutual of America Insurance Co.) were crucial in paving the way for Adams's controversial visa into the U.S. in February 1994 to address the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and for the Provisional Irish Republican Army's ceasefire declaration of August 1994.

Niall O'Dowd is the founder of Irish America Magazine and the newspaperThe Irish Voice. He led an Irish American peace delegation to Northern Ireland after President Clinton was elected and he acted as intermediary between Sinn Féin and the White House at a critical period in the peace process. His role was featured in the book Daring Diplomacy by Irish Times journalist Conor O'Clery and also in an Irish Television/PBS documentary entitled "An Irish Voice."

Andrew Sens has served on the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning since 1999. A career diplomat, Sens' last assignment was as executive to the National Security Council in Washington. A senior foreign and defense policy aide to President Clinton and his national security advisor, Sens has had postings in Kampala, Tehran, Washington, Islamabad, and Buenos Aires.

Joseph E. Thompson is Professor of Political Science at Villanova University. Professor Thompson has been deeply involved in the study of Northern Ireland for many years and has written extensively on the topic.

Links and Documents

Northern Ireland Office - The Agreement

Programme of the Inaugural Leadership Luncheon for Sen. George Mitchell

The American Ireland Fund The Mission of the Ireland Funds is to be the largest worldwide network of people of Irish ancestry and friends of Ireland dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development throughout the island of Ireland.

PeacePlayers International The Inagural Leadership Luncheon included an appeal for support by the American Ireland Fund for PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland. This orgnization uses the game of basketball to address sectarianism and foster mutual respect and tolerance by enabling Catholic and Protestant children ages 10-14 to play the game together. Basketball, unlike traditional sports in Northern Ireland, is not affiliated with either community.