117 SRES 552 ATS: Designating March 2022 as “Irish-American Heritage Month” and honoring the significance of Irish Americans in the history and progress of the United States. U.S. Senate 2022-03-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

III117th CONGRESS2d SessionS. RES. 552IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESMarch 17, 2022Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Casey, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Coons, Mr. Kaine, and Ms. Cortez Masto) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryMay 10, 2022Committee discharged; considered and agreed to with an amended preambleRESOLUTIONDesignating March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month and honoring the significance of Irish Americans in the history and progress of the United States.

Whereas, from the earliest days of the United States, the United States has inspired the hopes and dreams of countless individuals from around the world in search of a better life for themselves and their children;Whereas more than 31,500,000 United States citizens trace their ancestry to Ireland;Whereas, since before the United States was founded, Irish men and women undertook the perilous journey across the Atlantic Ocean to make a home in the United States, a place of hope and promise, and made inestimable contributions to the United States, both during the struggle for independence and after the founding of the republic;Whereas 9 of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independence, 4 associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and 22 Presidents proudly claim Irish heritage;Whereas Irish immigrants who came to the United States during the Great Famine of the 1840s helped transform cities in the United States, building them into dynamic centers of commerce and industry;Whereas the cultural, economic, and spiritual contributions of Irish immigrants continue to be evident today throughout the United States;Whereas Irish Americans have become deeply integrated into communities with strength, courage, wit, and creativity, making significant contributions in all areas of life;Whereas Irish-American writers such as Eugene O'Neill, John O'Hara, and F. Scott Fitzgerald transformed literature in the United States, entrepreneurs like William Russell Grace helped revolutionize industry and philanthropy in the United States, performers such as Gregory Peck, Lucille Ball, and Gene Kelly enriched the arts, and social reformers such as suffragist Leonora Barry and labor organizer Mary Kenney O'Sullivan fought for the rights of others;Whereas Irish Americans have served ably in communities in numerous capacities, including in public safety and government at the Federal, State, and local levels, and in the Armed Forces in every war in which the United States has fought since the Revolutionary War, including patriots such as Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War II;Whereas, more than 200 years ago, John Barry, who was born in Ireland, was the first naval hero of the Revolutionary War and became known as the Father of the Navy;Whereas the United States played a prominent role in support of negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement), done at Belfast, April 10, 1998, and has taken a leading role in promoting peace on the island of Ireland more broadly; Whereas Congress greatly values the close relationships the United States shares with both the United Kingdom and Ireland and is steadfastly committed to supporting the peaceful resolution of any and all political challenges in Northern Ireland; and Whereas, on February 28, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., proclaimed March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—(1)designates March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month;(2)recognizes the significant contributions of Irish Americans in the history and progress of the United States; and(3)supports the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement (also known as the Belfast Agreement) and subsequent agreements or arrangements for implementation of that Agreement to support peace on the island of Ireland.