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Since 1993, the US President has declared every March is Irish-American Heritage Month. Following is this year's proclamation released by the Office of the Press Secretary on March 1, 2000.
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.
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.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
To read previous proclamations regarding Irish-American
Heritage Months, visit White House Publications online:
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1993 Proclamation
1994 Proclamation
1995 Proclamation
1996 Proclamation
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1997 Proclamation
1998 Proclamation
1999 Proclamation
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