Taoiseach Enda Kenny made a “blunt” appeal to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in front of senior US politicians to use his influence to resolve the impasse over welfare reform in Northern Ireland.
The Fine Gael leader and Mr Adams were at the US Capitol for the speaker’s St Patrick’s Day lunch on Tuesday, which was attended by President Barack Obama and US Republican leaders.
The lunch was private, although media were permitted to walk through the Rayburn Room while the guests were being entertained by Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones.
However, a source at the lunch said Mr Kenny spoke directly to Mr Adams during his address.
“The Taoiseach said something along the lines of: ‘You need to get your people, or your friends, moving.’ It was as short and as blunt as that,” the source said.
No exception taken
Mr Adams said he did not take exception to the Taoiseach singling him out.
“I wouldn’t pay too much heed to the Taoiseach. I didn’t take exception to that. He knows well the role of Sinn Féin in getting the Stormont House Agreement in the first place,” he said.
“As George Mitchell famously said, getting agreement sometimes is the easy bit but implementing it is the challenge, and that’s what [Deputy First Minister] Martin McGuinness is focused on with [First Minister] Peter Robinson.”
Mr Adams had several private meetings with Irish-American and diaspora groups in Washington before travelling to New York to meet the board of Friends of Sinn Féin.
Mr Kenny travelled to Brussels for a meeting of the European Council.
