PENNSYLVANIA, March 14 - heritage; and

WHEREAS, Irish immigrants who came to the United States

during the Great Famine of the 1840s helped transform cities in

the United States, building them into dynamic centers of

commerce and industry; and

WHEREAS, The cultural, economic and spiritual contributions

of Irish immigrants continue to be evident today throughout the

United States; and

WHEREAS, Irish Americans have become deeply integrated into

communities with strength, courage, wit and creativity, making

significant contributions in all areas of life; and

WHEREAS, Irish-American writers such as Eugene O'Neill, John

O'Hara and F. Scott Fitzgerald transformed literature in the

United States, entrepreneurs such as William Russell Grace

helped revolutionize industry and philanthropy in the United

States, performers such as Gregory Peck, Lucille Ball and Gene

Kelly enriched the arts and social reformers such as suffragist

Leonora Barry and labor organizer Mary Kenney O'Sullivan fought

for the rights of others; and

WHEREAS, Irish Americans have served ably in communities in

numerous capacities, including in public safety and government

at the Federal, State and local levels, and in the armed forces

in every war in which the United States has fought since the

Revolutionary War, including patriots such as Audie Murphy, the

most decorated soldier of World War II; and

WHEREAS, More than 200 years ago, John Barry, who was born in

Ireland, was the first naval hero of the Revolutionary War and

became known as the Father of the Navy; and

WHEREAS, The United States played a prominent role in support

of negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the

20250SR0041PN0376 - 2 -

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30