The family of murdered Robert McCartney emerged from a private audience with US President George Bush today saying he had encouraged them in their campaign for justice.

Determined yet dignified, Robert's five sisters and his fiancee Bridgeen Hagans said they had been heartened by what they had heard at the White House and encouraged that things could soon change.

"George Bush had an understanding of our case and was 100 per cent behind us on it," Paula McCartney said.

"He said that he believed the result of this could bring peace in Ireland."

The family said they had come to the US hoping to dispel any romantic vision held of the Troubles. The support they have received has encouraged them that they have, at least in part, achieved that goal, they said.

Catherine McCartney added: "People did not need us to explain our case, they knew what it was about. And if anyone has listened to what we have been saying then at least that romantic view has been damaged if not dispelled."

Speaking outside the White House after the traditional St Patrick's Day celebration, Paula added that she was confident President Bush would use his influence in whichever possible way he could.

"He seemed quite confident - he obviously knows things we don't - that things will change. We are very happy with what he said and certainly heartened."

She said that people in America were not linking Mr McCartney's case to the Northern Ireland conflict or to Republicanism but were simply viewing it for what it was, as a crime, a murder that had to be solved.

The St Patrick's Day audience with the President today was the climax to a four-day US visit. In the seven weeks since Mr McCartney was murdered in a brawl outside a bar, his family have embarked on a quest that has taken them from the Short Strand backstreets of Belfast to the White House.

Ms Hagans and the McCartney sisters - Catherine, Gemma, Claire, Paula and Donna - believe that Robert, a father of two young children, was killed by the IRA and have accused Sinn Fein of complicity in a cover-up which has prevented witnesses from coming forward.

Their visit raises the pressure on Sinn Fein to cut its ties with the IRA. Gerry Adams was pointedly not invited to the White House St Patrick's Day celebrations for the first time since 1995.

The sisters meanwhile have become heroes in the US, and have already held meetings with leading Democrats including Senators Hillary Clinton and Edward Kennedy, and the former Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister who was present at the White House today, said: "The president is aware of the circumstances, he was very well briefed. He spoke to Bridgeen, the partner of Robert McCartney, and he said he thought that what they had done, the bravery they had shown, would not only help bring justice for them but for others."

Mr McCain last night summed up the prevailing view in Washington, saying that the failure of peace talks, followed by the Northern Bank robbery and Mr McCartney's murder, had unleashed great courage at grass roots level.

He commended the McCartney sisters for bravely speaking out loud what everyone has known for years.

"Change does not happen on its own and it takes brave individuals to make history," he said. "The world of party politics has failed them, Sinn Fein has failed them, and at such a terrible cost to their family."

It emerged later that Gerry Adams and Mr Ahern met for almost an hour last night to discuss the current difficulties facing the peace process. Mr Adams said: "It was a useful meeting and an opportunity to focus on how we can collectively resolve the outstanding issues."

Mr Ahern said that the Sinn Fein leader faced deepening isolation, particularly in Washington, unless the IRA goes out of business. "The icy reception of this week will just turn into total exclusion, which is the opposite of what I want to see," said Ahern.

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