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, Ire-
land, 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 fam-
ine 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 indus-
trial 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 Antie-
tam 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 achieve-
ments 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 nine-
teenth 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
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the month of March 1994 is designated as ‘‘Irish-
American Heritage Month’’. The President is authorized
and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the
people of the United States to observe this month with
appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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