Gerry's Friends

Al Kamen in the WaPo notes that although Gerry Adams has been snubbed by the White House and by King/Kennedy, he is not without friends in Washington.

The White House won't give Adams the time of day. A longtime Sinn Fein fan, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), demanded the IRA disband, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who had regularly welcomed Adams here on the holiday in past years, said he will not meet with him this time around.

But the official cold shoulder doesn't mean Adams won't have anyplace to party. The American Ireland Fund, a group of heavy-hitter business types with ties to Ireland and Northern Ireland, is having a black-tie dinner on St. Patrick's Day eve, honoring Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as its "man of the year."

Adams and other Northern Ireland politicos -- David Trimble, head of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Mark Durkan, head of the Social Democratic and Labour Party -- are expected to attend.

Other guests expected to be there include Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Murphy.

No rule that says The Great Day can't start a wee early.