THE width of a ballroom separated the seat assigned to Gerry Adams from that of the Ulster Unionist Party leader, David Trimble, and British and Irish ministers at the annual dinner last night in Washington of the American Ireland Fund.
The 100 table dinner was attended by the First Lady, Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, the junior Northern Ireland Office, Minister, Baroness Denton, and many leading Northern Ireland political figures, including the SDLP leader, John Hume.
Mr Adams is persona non grata to the British and Irish governments, the US administration and the unionists because of the end of the IRA ceasefire, and the choreography of the dinner matched that of Riverdance, which opened in New York last night.
Mr Bruton, Mr Trimble, Mr Hume and other dignitaries shared the top tables, numbered 17, 18, 19 and 20, while Mr Adams was a guest of Bob and Jack Dunfey of the New England Circle at table 56, six rows of tables back - about as far as one could throw a bread roll.
The White House decided, however, that "Mr Adams is not a pariah", as an official put it, and that Mrs Clinton would have no problems with shaking the Sinn Fein leader's hand at the dinner if the occasion arose.
Mr Adams arrived in Washington early yesterday and leaves this morning to return to New York, where he said he hoped to take part in the St Patrick's Day parade, despite his known reservations about the exclusion of a gay and lesbian group.
The Sinn Fein leader did not have an anticipated meeting with Ms Nancy Soderberg of the National Security Council, a White House official said.
Ms Soderberg, who had not ruled out a session with him away from the White House to discuss the crisis in the peace process, said however. We are in constant contact with Mr Adams and will remain in contact with him."
White House and American Ireland Fund officials helped to persuade the unionist group - attending their first ever St Patrick's Day celebrations in the US - that to decline invitations to the event as they originally planned would be to isolate themselves in Washington.
Right up to the last minute the unionist leader and his companions, Mr John Taylor MP and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, were said to be having doubts about ending their boycott of social events attended by Mr Adams.
But the rules of politics in Northern Ireland do not apply in the United States. Last weekend the unionist MP Mr Ken Maginnis, Mr Gregory Campbell of the Democratic Unionist Party, and other Northern Ireland politicians attended a conference in San Francisco where Mr Larry Downes, chairman of Friends of Sinn Fein, was among the guests.
British and Irish ministers have not spoken to Mr Adams since the IRA ceasefire ended last month. Dr Mo Mowlam, shadow Northern Ireland secretary, said yesterday, however, that she had no problem in attending the dinner with Mr Adams.
"I think Gerry Adams is grown up enough to know some things are helpful and some things are not," she said, referring to the prospect they would meet. "I'm not going to spend my evening hiding behind potted palms.
Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton agreed to come to the Washington dinner, which is co chaired, by Ms Ginny Grenham of the Health Care Leadership Council and Mr Paul Quinn, a prominent Washington lawyer, to accept a peace award on behalf off herself and President Clinton.
Also honoured were Mr John Sweeney, president of the AFL CIO trade union group, and, Congressman Ben Gilman, chairman of the International Operations and Human Bights Committee.
The American Ireland Fund, chaired by Dr A.J.F. O'Reilly, is the largest private sector organisation working for Irish cultural, educational, community and peace projects overseas, and has raised more than $70 million.
Dr O'Reilly did not attend last night's event.
President Clinton this evening will host a White House reception in honour of Mr and Mrs Bruton, to which all Northern Ireland party leaders have been invited, except Mr Adams.
Asked on CNN's Larry King Show if he was disappointed that Mr Trimble was going to the reception and he was not, Mr Adams replied: "I must say I'm disappointed but having said that, when the Irish Government and the British government take up a position of excluding Sinn Fein from government property back home, then one couldn't really expect the US administration or the President to do very much more than that."