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.

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
 1   Recognizing March 17, 2026, as "St. Patrick's Day" in
 2      Pennsylvania and celebrating the role Irish Americans played
 3      in the founding of the United States of America.
 4      WHEREAS, A native of Roman Britain, Patrick was the son of a
 5   civil servant and deacon; and
 6      WHEREAS, Tradition has it that at 16 years of age, Patrick
 7   was captured along with all the servants of his father's estate
 8   by Irish marauders, then sold to a Druid chief and taken to what
 9   is now known as County Antrim, in the Province of Ulster,
10   Ireland; and
11      WHEREAS, During his six years of captivity, Patrick's
12   occupation as a slave was the tending to flocks of swine and
13   sheep; and
14      WHEREAS, While in captivity, Patrick learned the Irish
15   language and customs; and
16      WHEREAS, During this period, Patrick experienced a religious
 1   awakening with the Christian teachings of his family and pastors
 2   taking hold; and
 3         WHEREAS, Driven by visions urging him to return to his native
 4   land, Patrick escaped his captors, undertaking a perilous
 5   journey in the process; and
 6         WHEREAS, Upon his return home, Patrick dedicated his life to
 7   religion, studying in France where he was ordained as a priest
 8   and later consecrated as a bishop; and
 9         WHEREAS, It was the example and fervor of Patrick's faith
10   that inspired him to continue learning and to pass along his
11   teachings to those in the British Isles and the rest of Europe;
12   and
13         WHEREAS, Patrick's uplifting messages helped to sustain the
14   people of Ireland through famine, oppression and exile; and
15         WHEREAS, It was his faith that earned Patrick not only
16   sainthood, but the everlasting love and respect of the Irish
17   people and many others throughout the world; and
18         WHEREAS, March 17, 461, is generally recognized as the date
19   of St. Patrick's death; and
20         WHEREAS, Each March, during annual parades and celebrations
21   honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, Irish
22   Americans join with people of other ethnic origins in honoring
23   St. Patrick and demonstrating a mutual love for Ireland; and
24         WHEREAS, As we honor St. Patrick, whose life mirrored a deep
25   and abiding example of the challenges of sainthood, we are
26   mindful of the history of the Irish people and their struggle
27   against oppression, religious intolerance and political, social
28   and economic barriers; and
29         WHEREAS, Irish immigrants helped to form the cultural
30   foundation of the United States of America; and

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 1         WHEREAS, Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians, more than 15% of
 2   this Commonwealth's population, are of Irish descent; and
 3         WHEREAS, People of Irish descent played a key role in
 4   America's success in the Revolutionary War; and
 5         WHEREAS, Scholarly research has shown that soldiers of Irish
 6   descent constituted 40% to 50% of the Continental Army by the
 7   time the Army reached Valley Forge in 1778; and
 8         WHEREAS, George Washington's step-grandson, George Washington
 9   Parke Custis, wrote: "Ireland furnished one hundred men to any
10   single man furnished by any other foreign nation"; and
11         WHEREAS, Commodore John Barry and other Irish immigrants held
12   high-ranking military positions during the Revolutionary War;
13   and
14         WHEREAS, The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the
15   signing of the Declaration of Independence; and
16         WHEREAS, Eight Irish Americans signed the Declaration of
17   Independence; and
18         WHEREAS, These eight men came from different communities and
19   had varying backgrounds, but stood united in their efforts to
20   create a republic in the United States, inspiring generations in
21   Ireland to seek and ultimately secure an Irish republic; and
22         WHEREAS, Stephen Moylan, an Irish American and George
23   Washington's aide-de-camp, is credited with being the first
24   person to use the phrase "United States of America"; and
25         WHEREAS, The first 200 copies of the Declaration of
26   Independence were printed by John Dunlap, an Irish American;
27   therefore be it
28         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize March
29   17, 2026, as "St. Patrick's Day" in Pennsylvania and celebrate
30   the role Irish Americans played in the founding of the United

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1   States of America.




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