‘Pessimism is just shorthand for defeatism’

On Friday night, former US President Bill Clinton addressed the annual dinner of the Worldwide Ireland Fund at Ballymaloe House in Cork. In the audience were Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney and 250 delegates from around the world. The following is an abbreviation of his 30-minute unscripted address

I FIRST want to say a word of appreciation to the Taoiseach for the leadership he has shown in this very difficult time.

First building a coalition government, then taking the hard decisions on the budget and the financial system, and I’m very grateful that I had a chance to plug Ireland at the economic conference in New York and at the conference we had here a few months ago.