[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 102 (Monday, July 19, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A DIPLOMAT'S DIPLOMAT RETURNS HOME

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 19, 1999

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, in a few days, Mr. Pat Hennessy, the 
Political Counselor at the Irish Embassy here in Washington, returns 
home for service in his government's Department of Foreign Affairs 
(DFA). The DFA's gain will be our loss here in America at a critical 
point in Irish history.
  Pat is known to many of us in the Congress, on both sides of the 
isle, as a diplomat's diplomat. He previously served with distinction 
in the Irish Consulate in New York City before his tenure at the Irish 
Embassy here in Washington. In New York, he got to know and worked 
closely with the large Irish American community and the many friends of 
Ireland in America's largest and greatest city. He understands our 
nation and people well.
  Pat has worked tirelessly for lasting peace and justice in the north 
of Ireland during his service in the U.S. He has also helped to advance 
greater U.S.-Irish relations in many areas, whether cultural, economic 
or otherwise.
  During an important transition to Republican control of the House and 
new congressional leadership in the cause of lasting peace and justice 
in Ireland and improved U.S.-Irish relations, Pat did not miss a beat. 
He treated all of those many friends of Ireland equally and fairly.
  In 1997, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich reinvigorated the long dormant 
Irish American interparliamentary exchange. Pat has played a vital role 
in fostering and improving these parliamentary exchanges since then.
  Our sessions on both sides of the Atlantic since 1997 have served to 
further the bonds of friendship and understanding between the Congress 
and the Dail, the Irish Parliament, in Dublin. They increased interest 
in the Congress on events in Ireland, whether in the north, or the 
Republic in the south with its booming economy and many American firms' 
vast investment in the ``Celtic Tiger.''
  The success of these legislative exchange programs is in no small 
part due to Pat's efforts and the growing and expanding U.S.-Ireland 
links in so many areas of common interest and support. We wish Pat and 
his wife Pauline and their family much happiness and success as he 
returns to Ireland.
  Our door will always be open when Pat decides to return to America, 
whenever or in whatever capacity.

                          ____________________