[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 43 (Friday, March 3, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 11733-11734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5456]



[[Page 11731]]

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Part IX





The President





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Proclamation 7279--Irish-American Heritage Month, 2000
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 43 / Friday, March 3, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 7279 of March 1, 2000

                
Irish-American Heritage Month, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                More than two centuries ago, our founders envisioned a 
                new Nation, a land free from tyranny and filled with 
                opportunity, prosperity, and liberty for all. Many 
                Irish people, faced with severe hardship in their 
                homeland, embraced the dream of a more promising future 
                and left behind Ireland's shores, their families, and 
                their friends for a new beginning in America. Each year 
                during the month of March, we celebrate these 
                courageous men and women of Ireland and remember with 
                pride their many contributions to our Nation.

                With strength, courage, wit, and creativity, Irish 
                Americans have flourished in our diverse Nation of 
                immigrants. Writers such as Flannery O'Connor and 
                Eugene O'Neill have transformed our literature; 
                entrepreneurs like Henry Ford helped revolutionize 
                American industry; performers such as Gregory Peck and 
                Helen Hayes have enriched the arts; patriots such as 
                Audie Murphy, our most decorated soldier of World War 
                II, redefined the meaning of courage; and social 
                reformers such as suffragist Leonora Barry and labor 
                organizer Mary Kenney O'Sullivan fought for the rights 
                of others. Generations of Irish Americans have worked 
                alongside their fellow Americans to build a more 
                perfect Union, and America is a stronger Nation because 
                of them.

                During his visit to Ireland in 1963, President Kennedy 
                reminded us that ``our two nations, divided by 
                distance, have been united by history.'' Today, people 
                on both sides of the Atlantic are united not only by 
                history, but also once again by a dream of a better way 
                of life. In the spring of 1998, the people of Ireland 
                and Northern Ireland sought to make that dream a 
                reality at home when they voted overwhelmingly in 
                support of the Good Friday Accord. America remains 
                committed to the Irish people as they continue working 
                to forge a brighter future in their own land. The road 
                ahead is long, but the promise of peace is still within 
                reach, and its rewards are great. This month, as we 
                celebrate Saint Patrick's Day and our shared heritage 
                with Ireland, we remember as well our common love of 
                liberty, commitment to progress, and quest for lasting 
                peace, and we look toward a future as proud as our 
                past.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim March 2000 as Irish-American 
                Heritage Month. I call upon all the people of the 
                United States to observe this month with appropriate 
                ceremonies, programs, and activities.

[[Page 11734]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                first day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-5456
Filed 3-2-00; 11:01 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P