[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7609-7610]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            A MONTANA VISIT

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I am proud to rise today and announce a 
historic event in my home State. For only the second time in the 
history of Montana, our great State will welcome the President of 
Ireland. President Mary McAleese has displayed courage, intellect, 
determination, and passion as she has guided her country for nearly a 
decade. During this time her country has experienced unprecedented 
growth, quickly rising to the upper echelons of nations.
  President McAleese will make an inaugural pilgrimage to a city whose 
history has been intimately tied with Ireland's for more than a 
century. In 1882, a lone Irish immigrant, driven by the work ethic 
instilled in his homeland and his desire to succeed, made a discovery 
that would forever change the

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face of Montana, the West, and America. The city was Butte, MT, and the 
man was Marcus Daly. Three hundred feet into the belly of the Earth, 
Daly set off an explosion that unearthed a revolution. Before his 
amazed eyes lay one of the riches veins of copper the world had every 
seen, and with it the unknowing hopes of millions of Irish immigrants.
  Butte, and its neighbor to the northwest Anaconda, quickly became 
thriving metropolises turning these mining communities into a virtual 
mosaic of nationalities and ethnicities. When walking down the street, 
one could hear the chatter of Eastern Europeans, smell cooking from the 
Middle East, or view native dress from Scandinavia. But above all was 
the voice of the Irish. The Irish made Butte their own, easing their 
longing for their native Eire by molding the city to reflect the land 
from their past. The streets were vibrant with festivities straight 
from the homeland; these hard-working immigrants, ranging in 
professions from doctors to lawyers to miners and gandy dancers, 
populated this young bustling city and gave it the feel of an island 
thousands of miles away.
  As the years passed, the pride of the Irish continued to ring strong, 
and with it the city of Butte. Butte quickly became the heart of 
Montana, and shaped the figures whose names would forever be remembered 
in the lore of our State. Names like Mike Mansfield and Burton Wheeler 
will be etched in the hearts and minds of Montanans for many years to 
come, and with them the tradition of the Irish.
  Today, Butte remains a vibrant city, as the new generation of Irish-
Americans listen to the whispers of their ancestors and continues to 
uphold the proud tradition of being Butte Irish. With the same values 
that turned this sleepy community into the heartbeat of the West, the 
people of Butte continue to thrive and the city remains as strong as 
the immigrants who first settled it.
  As President McAleese is embraced by the spirit of this magnificent 
city and by the residents who carry on the proud tradition of hailing 
from Butte, I say: may the road rise to meet you, may the wind be 
always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains 
fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you 
in the palm of His hand.

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