[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 552 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 552

    Designating March 2022 as ``Irish-American Heritage Month'' and 
    honoring the significance of Irish Americans in the history and 
                     progress of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2022

  Mr. 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 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Designating 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 Chuck Feeney 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
    Resolved, 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.
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