Irish Nationalist Leader Adams Gets Limited U.S. Visa

WASHINGTON — President Clinton agreed Friday to let Irish Republican Army ally Gerry Adams travel to the United States later this month for St. Patrick’s Day, a sign that the administration has retained its confidence in him despite a recent wave of bombings by the IRA.

Adams, the head of Sinn Fein, the legal political wing of the IRA, applied for and was granted a restricted visa that allows him to travel here but not to conduct any fund-raising activities.

“The president would not have taken the step of approving the visa if he did not believe, based on our contact with Mr. Adams, that this could further the peace process,” White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said.

Administration officials said Clinton’s decision reflects his belief that the momentum for a settlement in Northern Ireland has not been destroyed by the recent violence.

This belief was fortified, U.S. officials said, by this week’s announcement by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Prime Minister John Bruton setting a date--June 10--for peace talks to begin for all parties in Northern Ireland that have renounced further violence.

The United States could have withheld a visa for Adams until the IRA resumed its cease-fire, which it ended last month with the fatal bombing attacks. But administration officials said they believe that would have undercut Adams within Sinn Fein, where he is believed to be an advocate for negotiation over those agitating for more confrontation.