A joint resolution to designate the month of March 1994 as "Irish-American Heritage Month".
PL 103-217 (S.J.Res.119), enacted 02/22/1994

108 STAT. 48 
PUBLIC LAW 103-217—FEB. 22, 1994 
Public Law 103-217 
103d Congress 
Joint Resolution 
Feb. 22, 1994 
[8. 
J. Res. 119] 
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 bom; 
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, G«orge Taylor, Matthew Thornton, and 
Charles Thomson, 4 of the individuals who signed the Declaration 
of Independence, were Irish bom 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 cen-
tury, 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 Septem-
ber 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, Fsdr Oaks, Gaines Mill, Allen'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; 
PUBLIC LAW 103-217—FEB. 22, 1994 
108 STAT. 49 
Whereas Irish Americans have made numerous contributions to 
the arts £uid to sportis, 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 Ajnerican 
women; 
Whereas President John F. Kennedy was the first American Presi-
dent 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 JefiTerson 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 
Whereas 44 milUon 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. 
Approved February 22, 1994. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S.J. Res. 119: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 139 (1993): Oct. 28, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 140 (1994): Feb. 8, considered and passed House.