Irish-American Heritage Month, 2013

Proclamation 8934 of February 28, 2013

Irish-American Heritage Month, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For more than two centuries, America has been made and
remade by striving, hopeful immigrants looking for a
chance to pursue their dreams. Millions among them were
born in Ireland, separated from our shores but united
by their belief in a better day. This month, we
celebrate the Irish-American journey, and we reflect on
the ways a nation so small has inspired so much in
another.

Generations of Irish left the land of their forebears
to cast their fortunes with a young Republic. Escaping
the blight of famine or the burden of circumstance,
many found hardship even here. They endured prejudice
and stinging ridicule. But through it all, these new
citizens never gave up on one of our oldest ideas: that
anyone from anywhere can write the next great chapter
in the American story. So they raised families and
built communities, earned a living and sent their kids
to school. In time, what it meant to be Irish helped
define what it means to be American. And as they did
their part to make this country stronger, Irish
Americans shared in its success, retaining the best of
their heritage and passing it down to their children.

That familiar story has been lived and cherished by
Americans from all backgrounds, and it reaffirms our
identity as a Nation of immigrants from all around the
world. So as we celebrate Irish-American Heritage
Month, let us retell those stories of sweat and
striving. And as two nations united by people and
principle, may America and Ireland always continue to
move forward together in common purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim March 2013 as Irish-
American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to
observe this month with appropriate ceremonies,
activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.