[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 46 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CELEBRATING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT

  (Mr. HIGGINS of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, this weekend, Irish Americans 
will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with parades and parties of every 
level of exuberance, including in my hometown of Buffalo, New York.
  Buffalo's St. Patrick's Day celebration is one of the most spirited 
in America.
  This year is a special celebration as it marks the 20-year 
anniversary of peace in Northern Ireland. The 1998 Good Friday 
Agreement brought peace to Catholics and Protestants after 700 years of 
armed conflict.
  This peace belongs to the people of Northern Ireland and to the 
world.
  Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and the late Martin McGuinness, along 
with the Democratic Unionist Party's Reverend Ian Paisley took a 
courageous step no one believed was possible 20 years ago. They 
denounced violence and committed themselves to a peaceful power-sharing 
and reconciliation to live in peace together.
  Madam Speaker, let this St. Patrick's Day and the 20th anniversary of 
the Good Friday Agreement stand as a shining light of hope for a 
gentler America and a more peaceful world.

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