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1997 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 279
Designating March 17, 1997, St. Patrick's Day, as Virginia's Day of Remembrance of the Great Irish Famine.

Agreed to by the Senate, January 30, 1997
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 20, 1997

WHEREAS, during the years between 1845 and 1850, the people of Ireland endured one of the greatest famines in recorded history; and

WHEREAS, the Irish potato blight exacerbated the already horrendous living conditions of millions of Irish men, women, and children; and

WHEREAS, the famine caused the deaths of at least one million people and forced another million people to flee their homes and emigrate to foreign shores; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of these people emigrated to the United States and many settled in Virginia to begin new lives; and

WHEREAS, the year 1997 will mark the mid-point of the 150th anniversary of the Great Irish Famine; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby designate March 17, 1997, St. Patrick's Day, as Virginia's Day of Remembrance of the Great Irish Famine; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the General Assembly call upon the people of the Commonwealth to observe this day by remembering the million Irish men, women, and children who perished from starvation or endemic diseases aggravated by hunger and the other million Irish people who had to abandon their homeland to escape this tragedy; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Directors of the Irish American Society of Greater Richmond in order that they may be apprised of the General Assembly's recognition of this historic and catastrophic event.