Remarks by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Friends of Ireland Luncheon, hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, 17 March 2026

Remarks by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Friends of Ireland Luncheon, hosted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, 17 March 2026

• From: Department of the Taoiseach

• Published on: 17 March 2026
• Last updated on: 17 March 2026

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Mr President, Mr Speaker, Chairmen Neal and Kelly, Representatives, ladies and gentlemen - thank you for welcoming me to Washington DC to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Mr Speaker, I greatly appreciate your kind words and for hosting this lunch. A proud tradition since its inception back in 1983, through the shared vision of President Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neill.

This gathering signifies the ties that bind our two countries and the bipartisan commitment to peace and reconciliation in Ireland.

Almost two hundred and fifty years ago this country embarked on a great democratic experiment. One driven by the idea that we all share natural rights to life, to liberty and to the pursuit of happiness.

Those values were eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence, signed by three men born on the island of Ireland, and many others of Irish descent, and first printed by Irishman, John Dunlap.

Since the founding of the United States, Irish people have been at the beating heart of American democracy and civic life.

As politicians, faith leaders, police officers, fire fighters, nurses, community leaders, and construction workers, Irish people helped to build the American dream, with tenacity and with courage.

As all of us in this room know, courage comes in many forms. Mr Speaker, today I am reminded of Margaret Haughery, a woman born into deep poverty in County Leitrim in 1813 who found a better future in your own State of Louisiana.

Through hard work and determination Margaret overcame tragedy to set up a number of businesses, first a small dairy and then a bakery which grew to employ 40 people.

She was renowned for her business acumen, her deep faith, and her charity. The orphanages she helped to build across New Orleans remain as her legacy.

Margaret's grit and determination; her hard work, entrepreneurship, and innovation; and her dedication to giving back to her community embodies the best of what it is to be Irish, here in the US and at home in Ireland.

Today, across this great United States, more than 200,000 Americans go to work each morning in nearly 800 Irish-owned companies, operating in every sector, in every State.

Ireland is the fifth largest foreign investor in the US.

Mr President, Mr Speaker, distinguished guests, in their wisdom, the founding fathers also bequeathed to this country a robust set of institutions that have served this country well and have successfully underpinned one of the world's oldest and most robust democracies.

Their model, with its separation of powers and checks and balances, has not just endured it has been a model for so many democracies around the world.

Congress has played its vital part and continues to do so under your leadership today, Mr Speaker.

The values of the American Revolution inspired many beyond these shores. They fired the imagination of those who fought for and secured Ireland's independence.

Through our bonds of friendship and family, your country has played a pivotal role in achieving and securing a lasting peace on the island of Ireland.

I want to pay tribute to the generations of Congress people and Senators who have believed in and invested in this peace. We will never forget them.

We will always remember that, in our darkest and bleakest hours, they kept the faith. And we still need your support and your energy to maintain that peace, and to support reconciliation.

Mr President thank you for your friendship for Ireland, a country you know well.

Thank you, Mr Speaker for your gracious hospitality, for this opportunity to break bread with so many true Friends of Ireland.

There is truth in the Irish proverb that: "the road to a friend's house is never long."

Thank you, Co-Chairs Mike Kelly and Richie Neal for your unstinting commitment to peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland.

And thank you for bringing so many of the members of this House, from both sides of the aisle, together on St Patrick's Day and throughout the year.

A very happy St Patrick's Day to you all.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh agus beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir!