WHEREAS,  Ireland has a long history of democratic practices, going back to its first elected Parliament in the 1200s; and

WHEREAS,  the Dail Eireann is the democratically elected body representing the people of the Republic of Ireland; and

WHEREAS,  millions of Irish people emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s to escape brutal poverty and starvation due to the Irish potato famine, and most of those people came to America to start new lives and to embrace and contribute to a new land; and

WHEREAS,  tens of thousands of Irish immigrants arrived in New England and many came to Maine, and the Irish have been and remain an important part of Maine's culture, history and society; and

WHEREAS,  within a few years of their arrival in the United States and in Maine, these Irish immigrants became part of the American cultural landscape while preserving the best of their native culture, and they dedicated themselves to helping build this State and Nation; and

WHEREAS,  4 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Irish-born and 9 signers were of Irish ancestry and 19 Presidents of the United States have proudly claimed Irish heritage, including George Washington, the father of our country; John Fitzgerald Kennedy; Ronald Reagan; and Barack H. Obama; and

WHEREAS,  the 44,000,000 Americans of Irish ancestry, like their forebears, continue to enrich all aspects of life in the United States, in science, education, art, agriculture, business, industry, literature, music, athletics, entertainment, and military and government service; now, therefore, be it