The statue of the former US President Bill Clinton in Ballybunion owes its origins to an off-the-cuff remark made to the then Tánaiste Dick Spring during a visit to the US in 1994, according to newly released State papers.
According to details of State papers revealed in today's Irish Examiner, Mr Spring was on a visit to Mr Clinton's holiday home in Martha's Vineyard during which the US President joked that he would provide $300m in aid to Northern Ireland if he could complete a round of golf in under 80 strokes.
Mr Spring then promised to send Mr Clinton a book on Irish golf courses. The US President went on to play a round of golf in Ballybunion in 1998 and a statue of him was unveiled there that same year.
During his meeting with President Clinton in Martha's Vineyard in September 1994, which took place days after the IRA ceasefire, Dick Spring also raised the idea of developing an international fund for Ireland.
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