Clinton has no time to celebrate in stopover
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THE St Patrick's celebrations were well under way last night by the time US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched down at Shannon airport.
But there were no special festivities arranged for the visit of the wife of former US president Bill Clinton. The former first lady stopped only briefly at the Co Clare airport en route from Washington to Moscow.
The Special Air Mission aircraft which she travelled on was due to touch down for refuelling in Shannon at 11.30pm.
The aircraft comes from the same fleet as Air Force One, which transports the US president.
As the stopover of US dignitaries has become such a regular occurrence at the airport, there were no special events organised for her visit, which was due to last just one hour.
The main concession for her visit was a major stepping up in security arrangements.
A team of US secret service personnel arrived in Shannon earlier in the week and held meetings with senior gardai, the army and airport personnel.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said nothing had been planned by management at the airport or by the US embassy in Dublin for Mrs Clinton's brief stay on Irish soil during yesterday's holiday.
- Barry Duggan
Irish Independent
