IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 768 
Honoring the life of Thomas ‘‘Tommy’’ Makem. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 23, 2007 
Ms. SHEA-PORTER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life of Thomas ‘‘Tommy’’ Makem. 
Whereas Thomas ‘‘Tommy’’ Makem was born on November 
4, 1932 in Keady, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland; 
Whereas Thomas Makem emigrated from Ireland to Dover, 
New Hampshire in 1955, after having won the All-Ire-
land Championship in acting, to pursue a career in acting 
and carrying with him only a makeshift suitcase, a pair 
of bagpipes, and proof of his health; 
Whereas in 1956 Thomas Makem joined the Clancy Brothers, 
all of whom had immigrated to the United States from 
Ireland, and began performing musically together as 
‘‘The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem’’ and were 
signed by Columbia Records; 
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•HRES 768 IH 
Whereas in 1961 Thomas Makem performed at the Newport 
Folk Festival and, along with Joan Baez, was named as 
the most promising newcomer; 
Whereas in 1963 the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem 
performed at the White House at the request of Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy; 
Whereas the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem continued 
to perform and record music together, performing in 
venues such as Carnegie Hall and on programs including 
The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show until 1969 
when Thomas Makem left the band amicably to pursue 
a solo career; 
Whereas in 1975 Thomas Makem again joined with Liam 
Clancy and the duo performed together until 1988, in-
cluding a Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem reunion 
at the Lincoln Center in New York City, New York; 
Whereas in 1997 Thomas Makem wrote a book, Tommy 
Makem’s Secret Ireland, and in 1999 premiered his own 
one-man theatre show, Invasions and Legacies, in New 
York, and established the Tommy Makem International 
Festival of Song in South Armagh, Ireland in 2000; 
Whereas throughout his performing career Thomas Makem 
was highly regarded as an exceptional musician by both 
his colleagues and the public and received many awards 
and honors including the World Folk Music Association’s 
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and honorary doc-
torates from the University of New Hampshire in 1998, 
the University of Limerick in 2001, and the University 
of Ulster in 2007; and 
Whereas Thomas Makem died on Wednesday, August 1, 
2007 in Dover, New Hampshire and will now be remem-
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•HRES 768 IH 
bered as a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather 
and as one of the greatest Irish-Americans of the 20th 
Century: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors 
the life of Thomas ‘‘Tommy’’ Makem, and his accomplish-
ments as a musician, composer and performer. 
Æ 
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