Political Quotes

“last week, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a crucial milestone in the history of Ireland, the 1916 Easter Rising rebellion. As a son of Ireland through my father's ancestors, I am proud to reflect on this important moment in Ireland's long march to independence. The relationship between the United States and Ireland is long, it is strong, it is enduring, and it cannot be understated. As President Kennedy once said in a speech before Ireland's Parliament, ``No people ever believed more deeply in the cause of Irish freedom than the people of the United States.'' Both the United States and Ireland have histories rooted in a common set of ideals and goals, and we share similar principles and beliefs in freedom. A marker of the influence of the United States is the fact that our Nation is the only foreign country named in the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic, which proclaimed Ireland's independence. My relatives on my father's side believed strongly in the promises of opportunity in the United States when they emigrated here in the mid- 1800s. Marcelle and I have visited Ireland and met distant relatives who live there still. It is easy to see and feel the strong connections between our two countries. Last week's centennial anniversary of the Easter Rising, commemorated on both sides of the Atlantic, recalls a turning point in Ireland's history.…”