This was sent to another list I'm on. Does anyone know if this is true? BBond "From: The White House <Publications-Admin@pub.pub.whitehouse.gov> To: Public-Distribution@pub.pub.whitehouse.gov <Public-Distribution@pub.pub.whitehouse.gov> Date: Tuesday, March 03, 1998 12:48 AM Subject: 1998-02-27 Proclamation on Irish American Heritage Month > THE WHITE HOUSE > > Office of the Press Secretary > (Salt Lake City, Utah) >________________________________________________________________________ >For Immediate Release February 27, 1998 > > > IRISH-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1998 > > - - - - - - - > > BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > > A PROCLAMATION > > > As it has been for many immigrants, America has always been a >beacon of hope for the Irish people, a land of promise beckoning on the >far shore of the Atlantic where they could build a better life for >themselves and their children. Those who traveled here in the 17th and >18th centuries came primarily to escape religious, social, and >political discrimination in their homeland. But millions of Irish >immigrants who came to the United States in the 19th century were >fleeing not only persecution, but also the specter of starvation and >disease brought on by the Great Hunger, the devastating potato famine >that began in the 1840s. Many of them did not survive the journey; >many of those who did arrive at America's ports were hungry, ill, and >crushingly poor. > > But the Irish did not come to America empty-handed. They brought >with them strong arms and an even stronger spirit that would help to >build our Nation's great canals, bridges, and railroads. They would >wrest coal from the mines of Pennsylvania and raise the skyscrapers of >New York. They brought with them a love of words that enriched >American journalism and literature and produced writers such as John >Boyle O'Reilly, Ring Lardner, Eugene O'Neill, and Mary McCarthy. They >brought as well a great reverence for education and created schools, >colleges, and universities across the country renowned for their >scholarship and social conscience. > > Perhaps their greatest gifts to America have been a abiding love of >liberty, and an patriotic spirit. Irish Americans have served with >distinction in every American conflict, from the Revolutionary War to >the Persian Gulf, and their keen sense of social justice made them >among the first and most effective voices for labor reform. From Mary >Kenney O'Sullivan to George Meany, they have been in the vanguard of >efforts to improve working conditions and wages for all Americans. >Generations of Irish Americans entered public service to reach out to >those in need -- to feed the poor, find jobs for the unemployed, fight >for racial equality, and champion social reform. From the Kennedys of >Massachusetts to the Daleys of Chicago, from Governor Al Smith to >Ambassador Mike Mansfield, Americans of Irish descent have made >important and enduring contributions to the public life of our Nation. > > The United States continues to draw strength and vision from our >multicultural, multiracial society. This month, when citizens across >the country celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, we remember with special >gratitude the gifts of Irish Americans: faith in God, love of family >and community, and an unswerving commitment to freedom and justice that >continues to enrich our Nation and fulfill the promise envisioned by >the first Irish immigrants who turned their eyes and hearts toward >America so many years ago. > > 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 >1998 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. > > IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh >day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and >ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America >the two hundred and twenty-second. > > > > > > WILLIAM J. CLINTON > > > > # # #"