22nd July 2004

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It has been announced today that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will present the latest Tip O’Neill Lecture at the University.

Mrs Clinton has been a Senator since November 2000, the only First Lady ever elected to the US Senate. Her latest book, entitled ‘Living History’, was released in June last year and became an immediate bestseller.

Senator Rodham Clinton will deliver her Address, on the theme of Peace and Reconciliation in the Modern World, on Thursday, 26th August at the Magee campus.

The Tip O’Neill Lecture has in the past been presented by distinguished figures such as Senator Edward Kennedy; Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission; Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France; Bertie Ahern as President of European Council of Ministers; and Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament.

Both Mrs Clinton and President Clinton have been to Northern Ireland a number of times. In 1995 President Clinton became the first American President to come here. Senator Rodham Clinton has already spoken at the University, presenting a lecture on the role of women in peace and reconciliation under the Women’s Voices series in 1997.

Professor Gerry McKenna, President of the University of Ulster, today warmly welcomed the news. “Both The President and Senator Rodham Clinton are true friends of the University and the people of Northern Ireland. They dedicated themselves to this community when we needed them most and their international standing and support gave immense impetus and credibility to the efforts of our political leaders in Northern Ireland to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation.”

The holder of the Tip O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies at the University is Nobel Peace Laureate Professor John Hume, whose appointment was announced at a special ceremony in Washington in March 2002. President Clinton made a special visit to the University of Ulster in July last year to inaugurate John Hume’s tenure of the Chair. Professor Hume said on accepting the Chair that part of his work would be to bring some of the most highly regarded peacemakers in the world to Northern Ireland.

John Hume said today “We are deeply honoured that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver the Tip O’Neill lecture and I have no doubt that her presence will be an outstanding international occasion.”

The close association of The President and First Lady with the University of Ulster is due to their admiration for the University’s work in two fields, peace and conflict studies and opening the doors of higher education to able students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Attendance at the Lecture is by invitation only.

The Tip O’Neill Chair is supported by The Ireland Funds, and commemorates the former distinguished Speaker of the US House of Representatives, who was well known for his consistent work and commitment to promote peace, reconciliation and justice in Northern Ireland.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk