There has been a change of style in the US embassy residence in the Phoenix Park. All ambassadors bring their own background and taste to the house they will occupy for a number of years so, gone is the east-coast feminine chintz of Jean Kennedy Smith, and in is the rugged frontier style of the former Governor of Wyoming, Mike Sullivan and his wife Jane. Instead of the Kennedy family photos and portraits are marvellous paintings of western scenes - cowboys, indians, animals and high plains - on loan from the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre in Cody.
Ambassador Sullivan, who was never in Ireland until appointed to Dublin by President Bill Clinton earlier this year, is a true son of the west, from his cowboy hat, to his bucking bronco gold lapel-pin, to his leather boots. At a reception this week for a trade mission from the state of Vermont, he even whistled the guests to silence western style to introduce the leader, Senator Patrick Leahy and house guest, former Senator Alan Simpson, now professor of politics at Harvard. This year's Fourth of July party will have a western theme.
The ambassador is a golfer. A driving range has been set up in the field in front of the residence and he will lead the tournament at the JFK Irish American Veterans' Golf Classic at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club on Friday June 18th, organised by the JFK Dublin American Legion Post.