Irish-American Heritage Month, 2021

Proclamation 10151 of March 1, 2021

Irish-American Heritage Month, 2021

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since before the founding of our Nation, Irish
immigrants have arrived on our shores with an
unyielding spirit of determination that has helped
define America's soul and shape our success across
generations. Driven by the same dreams that still
beckon people the world over to America today, so many
crossed the Atlantic with nothing but the hope in their
hearts and their faith in the possibility of a better
life.

That's what brought the Blewitts from County Mayo and
the Finnegans of County Louth to the United States. For
years, they brought Ireland into their homes in
America. Working hard. Raising families. Remembering
always where they came from. By 1909, my grandparents
Ambrose Finnegan and Geraldine Blewitt met and married
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and passed on to my mother,
Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, a pride and a passion
that runs through the bloodstream of all Irish-
Americans.

The story of the Irish the world over is one of people
who have weathered their fair share of hard times, but
have always come out strong on the other side. From
often humble beginnings, Irish Americans became the
farmers, servants, miners, factory workers, and
laborers who fed our Nation, kept our homes, and built
our industry and infrastructure. They became the
soldiers who won American independence, died to
preserve our Union, and fought in every battle since to
defend America and its values.

Irish Americans became the firefighters and police
officers who have protected us. They are the activists
who organized unions to give voice and strength to
America's workers. They are the educators who taught
generations of American students and the public
servants who have answered the call to service in the
halls of the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White
House.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Irish-American
inventors and entrepreneurs who helped define America
as the land of opportunity. Irish-American writers
pollinated America's literary landscape with their love
of language and storytelling, while Irish lyricism has
brought poetry, art, music, and dance to nourish our
hearts and souls.

As I said when I visited Dublin in 2016, our nations
have always shared a deep spark--linked in memory and
imagination, joined by our histories and our futures.
Everything between us runs deep: literature, poetry,
sadness, joy, and, most of all, resilience. Through
every trial and tempest, we never stop dreaming.

The fabric of modern America is woven through with the
green of the Emerald Isle. This month, we celebrate the
sacrifices and contributions that generations of Irish
Americans have made to build a better America, and we
renew the bonds of friendship that will forever tie
Ireland and the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 2021 as
Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all
Americans to celebrate the

achievements and contributions of Irish Americans to
our Nation with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of March, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
fifth.