115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1500 
AN ACT 
To redesignate the small triangular property located in 
Washington, DC, and designated by the National Park 
Service as reservation 302 as ‘‘Robert Emmet Park’’, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Robert Emmet Park 
Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Robert Emmet was one of Ireland’s most 
prominent historical figures, having led an effort to 
secure Irish independence in 1803. 
(2) Although Emmet’s efforts initially failed, 
they succeeded in inspiring new generations of Irish 
men and women to struggle for independence. 
(3) For his efforts to gain Irish independence, 
Emmet was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 
death by hanging. 
(4) Robert Emmet’s ‘‘Speech from the Dock’’ 
motivated many of the efforts that led to an inde-
pendent Ireland following 1916’s Easter Rising; 
(Emmet famously said that ‘‘To [Ireland] I sac-
rificed every selfish, every lasting sentiment * * * I 
wished to place her independence beyond the reach 
of any power of earth * * * to procure for my coun-
try the guarantee which Washington procured for 
America * * * to exalt her to that proud station in 
the world.’’). Emmet was strongly influenced by 
American democracy and the American Revolution.
(5) Emmet had family members similarly ad-
miring of the United States and dedicated to the 
cause of Irish independence, including his brother 
Thomas Addis Emmet who went on to become a 
prominent Attorney General of New York. 
(6) Emmet has been revered by generations of 
Irish-Americans for his leadership, courage, and sac-
rifice. 
(7) Fifty years ago on April 22, 1966, the Rob-
ert Emmet Statue was dedicated on a small parcel 
of National Park Service land (reservation 302) at 
the corner of 24th Street NW and Massachusetts 
Avenue NW in Washington, DC. 
(8) Robert Emmet’s statue is the central fea-
ture of reservation 302. 
(9) Many leading Members of Congress, includ-
ing Speaker of the House John W. McCormack and 
Senators Everett Dirksen and Mike Mansfield served 
on the Robert Emmet Statue Dedication Committee. 
(10) Other members of that committee and par-
ticipants in the dedication ceremony included Sec-
retary of the Interior Stewart Udall, Representative 
Michael Kirwan, Ambassador of Ireland William P. 
Fay, and Rector of St. Matthews Cathedral John K. 
Cartwright.
SEC. 3. REDESIGNATION OF ROBERT EMMET PARK. 
(a) REDESIGNATION.—The small triangular property 
designated by the National Park Service as reservation 
302, shall be known as ‘‘Robert Emmet Park’’. 
(b) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law, regula-
tion, document, record, map, paper, or other record of the 
United States to the property referred to in subsection (a) 
is deemed to be a reference to ‘‘Robert Emmet Park’’. 
(c) SIGNAGE.—The Secretary of the Interior may 
post signs on or near Robert Emmet Park that include 
one or more of the following: 
(1) Information on Robert Emmet, his con-
tribution to Irish Independence, and his respect for 
the United States and the American Revolution. 
(2) Information on the history of the statue of 
Robert Emmet located in Robert Emmet Park. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 28, 2017. 
Attest: 
Clerk.