Yes - it's true. It was also posted on ancestry.com! Deborah Donegan info@buyersmarketplace.com -----Original Message----- From: bjbond@odin.cmp.ilstu.edu <bjbond@odin.cmp.ilstu.edu> To: IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com>; FIANNA-L@rootsweb.com <FIANNA-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Tuesday, March 03, 1998 1:34 PM Subject: Irish American Heritage Month? >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 >> >> >> >> # # #" > >______________________________