merrion street

Taoiseach Enda Kenny this afternoon attended a St. Patrick’s Day lunch hosted by Speaker of the House Boehner on Capitol Hill.

The Taoiseach congratulated Speaker Boehner on his recent election and highlighted the history of the event…

Many of our predecessors have taken part in this unique occasion on Capitol Hill, since President Ronald Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill held their first St. Patrick’s Day lunch, bringing a unique bipartisan spirit to our National Day.

This year, we recognise the 100^th birthday of President Reagan, another son of Illinois and a great Irish-American.

And we recall the 50^th anniversary of the inauguration of his illustrious predecessor, another great Irish-American, President John F Kennedy.

Their achievements represent the pinnacle of the huge contribution of the Irish to America, and of America to the peace and prosperity of Europe and the world.

Their stories speak more eloquently for the strength and value of our relationship than I could ever hope to.

The Taoiseach spoke of his great pride on the occasion…

It was a moment of great pride for me to walk up the steps of this great Capitol building a few moments ago.

I know that I follow in the footsteps of successive Irish leaders, arriving here for the first time as Taoiseach.

I thought not only of the historic occasions shared by previous leaders, however. I also carried in my heart the story of a man called James McGinley. He was a lighthouse keeper on the Atlantic west coast of Ireland.

Cross the Atlantic, and he was the first and last Irishman, the first and last European. Whatever the weather, he had to keep the light burning.  People depended on him for their lives.

James McGinley was my grandfather.

I think of him today, and I think of all of the ordinary hard-working people of Ireland and of America. I think of the generations of Irish people who crossed the Atlantic to make a better life and who helped to build up this country. I think of the hands, many of them Irish, that built – and rebuilt - this unique building which houses the House and Senate today. I think of the debt we owe to them

Mr. Kenny continued by thanking America for its role in the Northern Ireland peace process and commented on how another historic milestone was about to be reached…

Leaders from North and South in Ireland know just how much we owe to the United States for the role which it has played in bringing peace to Ireland.

Our peace process serves as a true model for US diplomacy and leadership around the world. As you know, Mr. Speaker, it is a process that has been supported, through some very turbulent and difficult days, on a bipartisan basis, by President Obama and his predecessors and on both sides of the aisle here in the Congress of the United States.

Later this month, the Northern Ireland Assembly will have its final session before the democratic election to be held in May.

This will be the first time in the history of Ireland that a power-sharing administration, with full powers over a wide range of areas including policing and justice, will have run a full term. That is a historic achievement that should inspire us all to believe that change is possible and the highest barriers can be overcome. On behalf of all the people of Ireland let me again therefore say “thank you” for America’s role in bringing peace to Ireland.

Taoiseach Kenny’s itinerary will continue with a St. Patrick’s Day Reception at the White House this evening.