Dedicated diplomat and public servant
Posted By: January 20, 2021
Dedicated diplomat and public servant
Fr. Sean McManus, President, Irish National Caucus. Washington, DC.
Letters to Editor. The Irish Echo. New York. Wednesday, January 20, 2021.
The Irish National Caucus is deeply sorry to hear about the death of Norman Houston, former director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC and a native of Larne.
Norman was a good and dedicated diplomat and public servant.
I guess the most important thing we say about others is not what we say on their death, but what we say to them while they are living.
So, let me quote what I wrote to Norman on January 12, 2018, thanking him for the ‘safe place/ambiance’ you have fostered and made bloom at the NI Bureau – defusing controversy and tension… A real diplomatic achievement, of which you can be proud.”
In particular, I was very grateful to Norman for the respect and solidarity he showed to Raymond McCord, Sr. He met with Raymond and me when the Irish National Caucus brought Raymond to Washington in May 2009, to lobby for a Congressional Hearing on the 1997 murder of his son Raymond, Jr.
We achieved the hearing which was later held in October 2009. And Norman met with Raymond, Barbara Flaherty, Executive Vice President, Irish National Caucus, and me on February 15, 2020, after Norman had retired from the NI Bureau.
To conclude on a lighter note – as Norman, despite his professional seriousness, liked to laugh – I made a point privately and publicly of addressing him as ‘ambassador’ (even though he was not) on the grounds that anyone who officially represented Co Fermanagh had to be an ambassador. He would laugh heartedly at that.
Norman always reciprocated my solidarity, writing on September 12, 2019, “Dear Father McManus: Thanks for all your support over the years. You have always been a gentleman and not afraid to tell the truth.”
God rest you Norman and God comfort your family and loved ones.
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Dedicated diplomat and public servant
Fr. Sean McManus, President, Irish National Caucus. Washington, DC.
Letters to Editor. Irish News. Belfast. Published on Wednesday, January 20, 2021.
The Irish National Caucus is deeply sorry to hear about the death of Norman Houston, former director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington DC and a native of Larne.
Norman was a good and dedicated diplomat and public servant.
I guess the most important thing we say about others is not what we say on their death, but what we say to them while they are living.
So, let me quote what I wrote to Norman on January 12, 2018, thanking him for the ‘safe place/ambiance’ you have fostered and made bloom at the NI Bureau – defusing controversy and tension… A real diplomatic achievement, of which you can be proud.”
In particular, I was very grateful to Norman for the respect and solidarity he showed to Raymond McCord, Sr. He met with Raymond and me when the Irish National Caucus brought Raymond to Washington in May 2009, to lobby for a Congressional Hearing on the 1997 murder of his son Raymond, Jr.
We achieved the hearing which was later held in October 2009. And Norman met with Raymond, Barbara Flaherty, Executive Vice President, Irish National Caucus, and me on February 15, 2020, after Norman had retired from the NI Bureau.
To conclude on a lighter note – as Norman, despite his professional seriousness, liked to laugh – I made a point privately and publicly of addressing him as ‘ambassador’ (even though he was not) on the grounds that anyone who officially represented Co Fermanagh had to be an ambassador. He would laugh heartedly at that.
Norman always reciprocated my solidarity, writing on September 12, 2019, “Dear Father McManus: Thanks for all your support over the years. You have always been a gentleman and not afraid to tell the truth.”
God rest you Norman and God comfort your family and loved ones.
