Cahill/Visa - Collection Finding Aid

Cahill/Visa - Collection Finding Aid

This collection consists of memoranda, emails, cables, notes, and forms related to Joe Cahill’s (and others) application process to obtain a visa to enter the United States. These records are primarily related to the visa application and waiver process. Joe Cahill was one of the founders of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Cahill had a criminal record, convicted in British courts, and was once deported from the United States for entering illegally. As part of the Clinton administration efforts toward peace in Northern Ireland the administration considered visa waivers for a number of IRA and Loyalist supporters with criminal records. It was part of a good faith effort to encourage IRA and Loyalists to the negotiating table. Cahill first received a visa waiver in 1994 and then was able to make several follow-on trips to the United States, primarily to attend the annual conference of the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID).

William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum