IA

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 246

To designate the month of March 1994 as ‘‘Irish-American Heritage Month’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1993

Mr. MANTON introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to

the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

JOINT RESOLUTION

To designate the month of March 1994 as ‘‘Irish-American

Heritage Month’’.

Whereas the first Irish emigrants arrived in America as early

as 1621;

Whereas 9 of the generals who served in the Continental

Army during the American Revolution were Irish born;

Whereas Commodore John Barry of County Wexford, Ireland, served brilliantly in the Continental Navy and is

widely regarded as the father of the American Navy;

Whereas James Smith, George Taylor, Matthew Thornton,

and Charles Thomson, 4 of the individuals who signed
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the Declaration of Independence, were Irish born and 9

other signers were of Irish ancestry;

Whereas the contributions of the Irish to America’s victory

in the American Revolution led Lord Mountjoy to exclaim

in the British Parliament that ‘‘America was lost by the

Irish emigrants’’;

Whereas beginning at the time of the potato blight and famine in Ireland in 1845, over 700,000 Irish immigrants

came to the United States during the 1840’s, 900,000

during the 1850’s, and over 300,000 in each decade

through 1910;

Whereas Irish Americans participated heavily in the industrial and economic development of America during the

nineteenth century, building our cities and canals and the

railroads that expanded the Nation to the West;

Whereas even today, it is said that under every railroad tie

an Irishman is buried;

Whereas the Irish contributed greatly to the development of

the labor movement in the United States, including the

establishment of the American Miners Association in

1861;

Whereas nearly 150,000 natives of Ireland served in the

Union forces during the Civil War;

Whereas more than 500 members of the Irish Brigade were

killed while fighting for the Union in the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, a date that has been called

the bloodiest day in American history;

Whereas the Irish Brigade fought courageously in several

other Civil War battles including Fredericksburg,

Chancellorsville, Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Gaines Mill, Al-
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len’s Farm, Savage Station, White Oak Bridge, Glendale,

Malvern Hill, Gettysburg and Bristow Station;

Whereas in 1892, Annie Moore from County Cork, Ireland,

at age 15 became the first immigrant to pass through

Ellis Island;

Whereas Irish Americans have made numerous contributions

to the arts and to sports, as exemplified by the achievements of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Helen

Hayes, Georgia O’Keefe, John L. Sullivan, and Connie

Mack;

Whereas the first woman to serve as the organizer of the

American Federation of Labor was Mary Kennedy

O’Sullivan;

Whereas at the beginning of the twentieth century, many of

the school teachers in America’s largest cities were Irish

American women;

Whereas President John F. Kennedy was the first American

President to visit Ireland during his term in office;

Whereas Irish Americans, including Kathryn Sullivan, the

first American woman to walk in space, and Christa

Corrigan McAuliffe, America’s first school teacher in

space who perished on the Challenger mission, have

bravely served as America’s pioneers in space;

Whereas more than 200 Irish Americans have been awarded

the Congressional Medal of Honor;

Whereas President William Jefferson Clinton is the nineteenth American President of Irish ancestry;

Whereas 37 United States governors and mayors designated

March 1993 as ‘‘Irish-American Heritage Month’’; and
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Whereas 44 million Americans are of Irish ancestry: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the month of March 1994 is designated as ‘‘Irish4 American Heritage Month’’. The President is authorized

5 and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the

6 people of the United States to observe this month with

7 appropriate ceremonies and activities.

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