Pennsylvania HR 395: A Resolution recognizing March 17, 2026, as "St. Patrick's Day" in Pennsylvania and celebrating the role Irish Americans played in the founding of the United States of America.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 2784
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 395
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY DALEY, O'NEAL, McANDREW, JAMES, PROBST, BURGOS,
CONKLIN, HARKINS, HILL-EVANS, BRENNAN, PIELLI, SCHLOSSBERG,
GUENST, DOUGHERTY, PICKETT, MADDEN, FREEMAN, MARCELL, KAZEEM,
McNEILL, SANCHEZ, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, PASHINSKI, DONAHUE, HOWARD,
OTTEN, MAYES, RIVERA, MENTZER, HADDOCK, HOHENSTEIN, BOROWSKI,
KHAN, COOPER AND GALLAGHER, JANUARY 21, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, JANUARY 21, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing March 17, 2026, as "St. Patrick's Day" in
Pennsylvania and celebrating the role Irish Americans played
in the founding of the United States of America.
WHEREAS, A native of Roman Britain, Patrick was the son of a
civil servant and deacon; and
WHEREAS, Tradition has it that at 16 years of age, Patrick
was captured along with all the servants of his father's estate
by Irish marauders, then sold to a Druid chief and taken to what
is now known as County Antrim, in the Province of Ulster,
Ireland; and
WHEREAS, During his six years of captivity, Patrick's
occupation as a slave was the tending to flocks of swine and
sheep; and
WHEREAS, While in captivity, Patrick learned the Irish
language and customs; and
WHEREAS, During this period, Patrick experienced a religious
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awakening with the Christian teachings of his family and pastors
taking hold; and
WHEREAS, Driven by visions urging him to return to his native
land, Patrick escaped his captors, undertaking a perilous
journey in the process; and
WHEREAS, Upon his return home, Patrick dedicated his life to
religion, studying in France where he was ordained as a priest
and later consecrated as a bishop; and
WHEREAS, It was the example and fervor of Patrick's faith
that inspired him to continue learning and to pass along his
teachings to those in the British Isles and the rest of Europe;
and
WHEREAS, Patrick's uplifting messages helped to sustain the
people of Ireland through famine, oppression and exile; and
WHEREAS, It was his faith that earned Patrick not only
sainthood, but the everlasting love and respect of the Irish
people and many others throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, March 17, 461, is generally recognized as the date
of St. Patrick's death; and
WHEREAS, Each March, during annual parades and celebrations
honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, Irish
Americans join with people of other ethnic origins in honoring
St. Patrick and demonstrating a mutual love for Ireland; and
WHEREAS, As we honor St. Patrick, whose life mirrored a deep
and abiding example of the challenges of sainthood, we are
mindful of the history of the Irish people and their struggle
against oppression, religious intolerance and political, social
and economic barriers; and
WHEREAS, Irish immigrants helped to form the cultural
foundation of the United States of America; and
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WHEREAS, Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians, more than 15% of
this Commonwealth's population, are of Irish descent; and
WHEREAS, People of Irish descent played a key role in
America's success in the Revolutionary War; and
WHEREAS, Scholarly research has shown that soldiers of Irish
descent constituted 40% to 50% of the Continental Army by the
time the Army reached Valley Forge in 1778; and
WHEREAS, George Washington's step-grandson, George Washington
Parke Custis, wrote: "Ireland furnished one hundred men to any
single man furnished by any other foreign nation"; and
WHEREAS, Commodore John Barry and other Irish immigrants held
high-ranking military positions during the Revolutionary War;
and
WHEREAS, The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence; and
WHEREAS, Eight Irish Americans signed the Declaration of
Independence; and
WHEREAS, These eight men came from different communities and
had varying backgrounds, but stood united in their efforts to
create a republic in the United States, inspiring generations in
Ireland to seek and ultimately secure an Irish republic; and
WHEREAS, Stephen Moylan, an Irish American and George
Washington's aide-de-camp, is credited with being the first
person to use the phrase "United States of America"; and
WHEREAS, The first 200 copies of the Declaration of
Independence were printed by John Dunlap, an Irish American;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize March
17, 2026, as "St. Patrick's Day" in Pennsylvania and celebrate
the role Irish Americans played in the founding of the United
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States of America.
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