The ex-president is coming to Dublin, and you can have dinner with him. But it will cost you, writes Deaglán de Bréadún
Almost six years after he left the White House, former US president William Jefferson Clinton remains a very popular man in this country.
There's no denying that his close and possibly decisive involvement in the Northern Irish peace process won him a special place in the affections of many Irish people, who are inclined to overlook or dismiss his flaws and failings as a result. Monica who?
Bill's latest visit takes place on September 27th, but if you want to meet him it's going to cost you. The ex-president is guest-speaker at a lunch in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, and tickets for the event start at a cool €750.
That will get you into the hotel ballroom, where the initial champagne reception and four-course lunch is being served. But if you want to actually meet the great man, who celebrated his 60th birthday last month, you will have to pay an extra €3,000.
Alternatively, if you are part of a group, an "executive" table for 10 people costs €7,500. Or you could upgrade to one of the "platinum" tables that will be clustered around the stage. These cost €10,000 (plus 21 per cent VAT), which entitles the host of the table to shake hands and get a souvenir photograph taken with Bill as well as receiving a signed copy of his lengthy memoir, My Life.
The event is being organised by Paul Allen & Associates of Mount Street, Dublin, in conjunction with World Celebrity Events, owned by Glasgow-based entrepreneur Satty Singh and the Harry Walker Agency of New York.
Never far from the headlines for one reason or another, Clinton is likely to be back in the news that afternoon. Immediately beforehand, he is scheduled to be in Manchester to address the Labour Party conference and - who knows? - throw a lifeline to his old friend and fellow peace-processor Tony Blair.
The previous evening, he will be in the Royal Albert Hall in London, also for a speech and question-and-answer session. The cost will be very much lower at a reported £60-£150 (€90-€220) but organisers of the Dublin event point out that there won't be the same intimacy.
The target for attendance of the Dublin dinner is about 600 people or 60 tables.
There will be about 100 special guests and the organisers have cast their net wide among the "great and the good", inviting Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and senior members of his staff; rock band U2 and their manager Paul McGuinness; former taoiseach Albert Reynolds; Nobel laureates John Hume and Seamus Heaney; former tánaiste and foreign affairs minister Dick Spring; businessman Dermot Desmond and sports stars ranging from Olympic gold medallist Ronnie Delaney to rugby international Brian O'Driscoll and GAA luminaries Páidí O Sé and Paul Caffrey.
Some may not be able to make it and the Taoiseach has what Americans call a "conflict", in that the Dáil returns after the summer recess that day; however, he is expected to "pop in" to meet his old friend Bill beforehand.
The Barnardo's children's charity will derive "a substantial sum" from the proceeds but the organisers will not say how much. They say the ticket charges are similar in the US: "That's the going rate to meet president Clinton." Somewhat surprisingly, they say Clinton is "not here for the Ryder Cup" (celeb-spotters will have to settle for George Bush snr, who is expected at the K Club), although he will fit in a round of golf with his friend Dick Spring at Waterville, Co Kerry the next day.
Meanwhile, a follow-up to the Clinton visit is planned for the New Year, a double act featuring his former vice-president, Al Gore, and UN weapons inspector Hans Blix.
Amid all the publicity about the Clinton lunch, little attention has been paid to what the man might actually say. For the record, his speech is entitled "Leadership for the Future" and will cover such topics as global terrorism, the world energy crisis, globalisation, world poverty and "the future for Ireland". It's quite an agenda - but at those prices you would expect nothing less.