THE US ambassador, Ms Jean Kennedy Smith, has said she will march in the peace rally in Dublin tomorrow organised by STOP, Solidarity to Organise Peace. Ms Kennedy Smith will join the rally at the Teachers Club in Parnell Square at 2 p.m. and march to College Green.
Members of the US embassy staff will also participate.
Ms Kennedy Smith said the American people unequivocally condemned violence and believed that "the vicious and cowardly attacks of the past two weeks have no place in a democratic society".
She recalled what President Clinton said on College Green last year: "It is the courage and heart of the people that will bring peace to Northern Ireland". It was appropriate, she added, that they would march to the spot where the President spoke, to demonstrate that peace would endure.
Weekend peace rallies will take place in many parts of Ireland and in London, New York and Warrington. The co ordinating committee of STOP has issued guidelines for marchers tomorrow. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Donald Caird, said church bells would be rung at 3 p.m.
Women Together, the group which organised the first peace rally after the ending of the IRA ceasefire, is planning a series of rallies for 3 p.m. tomorrow in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Athlone, Belfast, Derry, Ballymena, Omagh, Lurgan, Enniskillen - and other centres.
The Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Patrick Walsh, yesterday called on everyone to make the first Sunday of Lent a day of special prayer. "I express my prayerful support for all those who are continually working for peace, for all those who are organising peace rallies and for all those who attend".
Ms Bernie Malone, the Dublin Labour MEP, chaired the launch yesterday of a Democratic Declaration for Peace campaign. Its organisers are asking as many groups as possible throughout the island to sign the declaration.
"I hope thousands will now sign as a further demonstration of the overwhelming desire for peace", said Ms Malone.
Ireland's largest public sector union, Impact, has called on its 30,000 members to support the rallies for peace tomorrow. Impact's general secretary, Mr Phil Flynn, said yesterday: "The people of this island are sending a clear message to the paramilitaries and the politicians. We want dialogue, not violence. An immediate reinstatement of the ceasefire is vital."
Young people should take an active part in securing peace in Ireland by attending the nationwide peace rallies at the weekend, Macra na Feirme's vice president, Mr Tommy McGuire, said yesterday. "Ireland has too much to lose by reverting to violence. As a rural youth group representing 8,000 people, I call on all our members to join the thousands of ordinary Irish citizens taking to the streets to demand a say in our future on Sunday," he said.
STOP organisers claimed yesterday to have won the support of ICTU, IBEC, IFA, ICMSA, SIPTU, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, USI, the National Youth Council and the National Parents Council as well as all the political parties in the Dail and the churches.
STOP organisers said traditional adversaries had set aside differences as organisations representing trade unions, employers, farmers, the unemployed, retired workers, students and young people lined up behind the simple message: "Cease fire. Give us back our peace".
Marchers are being advised to follow traditional parade routes and to advise local gardai/police of their intentions. They are being urged to wear white ribbons and to bring their families: "The quest for peace is about the future as well as the present".