Just over twenty years ago, in November 1995 Bill Clinton became the first serving US President to visit Northern Ireland.

At a time of on-and-off ceasefires and political uncertainty Clinton brought a message of hope. Turning on the lights of Belfast’s Christmas tree that year, addressing the people of Northern Ireland he said their day of peace would come.

He had a message for those who renounced violence too: they were also invited and entitled to be full participants in the democratic process.

Meeting with political leaders earlier that day, Queen’s University was chosen as a politically-neutral venue, and this week Queen’s celebrated Clinton’s visit with a “Spirit of ‘95” event, to which even Clinton contributed to via video.

For exciting accounts of Clinton and Irish-America’s secret searches for peace in Ireland, among other books this author recommends reading Conor O’Clery’s Daring Diplomacy and Niall O’Dowd’s An Irish Voice.

The success of our peace process and the peace won by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 came as a result of individual courage, paramilitary and inter-political party compromise, and intense lobbying behind the scenes.

Throughout his presidency and involvement with Northern Ireland, Clinton certainly encouraged key understandings and values.

Long before his election to President, he acknowledged that only peace could bring about the end of the conflict here; the Irish constitutional question must be answered by democracy and consent of the people who live here.

Helping to set the political scene, narrative and tone was crucial.

Knowingly dealing with diametrically opposing opinions and personalities from wholly different backgrounds, he worked to “de-demonise” individuals and groups who emerged from the margins to become key players, even peace-makers in their own right.

This was made possible by building personal connections, rapport and trust when and where it had ceased to exist.

Despite championing negotiations, with a ‘can-do’ attitude he wasn’t afraid to get tough. For decades the US had sided with Britain or steered clear of the Irish issue altogether; in the post-Cold War world Clinton was not deterred by the prospect ruffling diplomatic feathers.

Clinton recognised that attempts at winning peace would not come without risks; the issuing of a US visa to Gerry Adams and the British reaction that followed is a case in point.

What Clinton succeeded in doing was internationalising the conflict, instilling momentum to the process, and shifting the “burden of proof” from those who wanted peace to those who did not want to compromise.

Three years after Clinton’s first visit in ’95, peace was brought about not by might but by diplomacy.