H.R. No. 751

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Honorable Pat Breen, Irish minister of state for
	employment and small business, is visiting the Texas Capitol on
	March 13, 2017, and this occasion provides a welcome opportunity to
	pay tribute to this distinguished guest and to celebrate the many
	contributions that the people of Ireland have made to Texas over the
	centuries; and
	WHEREAS, Minister Breen began his career in public service as
	a member of the Clare County Council, where he served from 1999 to
	2002; since 2002 he has held a seat in the Dáil Éireann, the lower
	house of the Irish Oireachtas, or parliament; Minister Breen served
	as chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and
	Trade from June 2011 to February 2016, and in May 2016 he assumed
	his present post as a minister of state in the Department of Jobs,
	Enterprise, and Innovation; and
	WHEREAS, It is fitting indeed that Minister Breen's visit
	occurs during the week of St. Patrick's Day; this iconic Irish
	holiday is celebrated widely across Texas, a state that has drawn
	many people of Irish descent and that has been profoundly shaped by
	their endeavors; and
	WHEREAS, Among the earliest Irish residents of Texas was Hugo
	Oconór, who served as governor of Coahuila and Texas from 1767 to
	1770 and who helped lay the cornerstone of Mission San José; in the
	early 19th century, Irish-born empresarios James McGloin, John
	McMullen, and James Power settled Irish families in South Texas and
	along the Gulf Coast, and a number of Irish took up homesteads in
	Stephen F. Austin's first colony; during the Texas Revolution, at
	least 15 Irish-born soldiers fought at the Alamo, four Irishmen
	signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and a hundred fought
	with Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, where they made up
	one-seventh of his troops; and
	WHEREAS, Immigration from Ireland increased dramatically
	during the mid-19th century, and the new arrivals joined
	established Irish Texans in helping to build the physical
	infrastructure and develop the economy and social fabric of the
	young state; prominent Irish natives included Samuel McKinney, an
	early president of Austin College, and Father Michael Sheehan, who
	established the first Catholic church in Austin; later in the
	century, John William Mallet served as the first faculty chair at
	The University of Texas, and the artist Henry Arthur McArdle
	specialized in paintings based on Texas history, several of which
	hang in the State Capitol; today, some two million Texans,
	representing eight percent of the state's population, claim Irish
	ancestry and are making their mark in both the private and the
	public sphere; and
	WHEREAS, Ireland remains a key friend of Texas and a strong
	economic partner, with trade between the two currently valued at
	about $2.2 billion; in recognition of the affinity between their
	dynamic societies and of the potential for a further expansion of
	economic relations, Ireland opened a consulate general in Texas in
	2015; located in Austin, at Ireland House Texas, the staff of the
	diplomatic mission is joined by representatives of two government
	agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland; and
	WHEREAS, The people of Texas share deep, historic bonds with
	the people of Ireland, and it is a privilege to recognize those ties
	and the immeasurable contributions of Irish Texans to the growth
	and vitality of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
	Legislature hereby welcome Minister Pat Breen of Ireland to the
	Texas Capitol and join with him in celebrating the long-standing
	friendship that exists between Ireland and this state; and, be it
	further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for Minister Breen as an expression of high regard by the
	Texas House of Representatives.
	Murphy
	Straus Goldman Oliverson
	Allen Gonzales of Williamson Ortega
	Alonzo González of El Paso Paddie
	Alvarado Gooden Parker
	Anchia Guerra Paul
	Anderson of Dallas Guillen Perez
	Anderson of McLennan Gutierrez Phelan
	Arévalo Hefner Phillips
	Ashby Hernandez Pickett
	Bailes Herrero Price
	Bell Hinojosa Raney
	Bernal Holland Raymond
	Biedermann Howard Reynolds
	Blanco Huberty Rinaldi
	Bohac Hunter Roberts
	Bonnen of Brazoria Isaac Rodriguez of Bexar
	Bonnen of Galveston Israel Rodriguez of Travis
	Burkett Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr.
	Burns Johnson of Harris Rose
	Burrows Kacal Sanford
	Button Keough Schaefer
	Cain King of Hemphill Schofield
	Canales King of Parker Schubert
	Capriglione King of Uvalde Shaheen
	Clardy Klick Sheffield
	Coleman Koop Shine
	Collier Krause Simmons
	Cook Kuempel Smithee
	Cortez Lambert Springer
	Cosper Landgraf Stephenson
	Craddick Lang Stickland
	Cyrier Larson Stucky
	Dale Laubenberg Swanson
	Darby Leach Thierry
	Davis of Dallas Longoria Thompson of Brazoria
	Davis of Harris Lozano Thompson of Harris
	Dean Lucio III Tinderholt
	Deshotel Martinez Turner
	Dukes Metcalf Uresti
	Dutton Meyer VanDeaver
	Elkins Miller Villalba
	Faircloth Minjarez Vo
	Fallon Moody Walle
	Farrar Morrison White
	Flynn Muñoz, Jr. Wilson
	Frank Murphy Workman
	Frullo Murr Wray
	Geren Neave Wu
	Gervin-Hawkins Nevárez Zedler
	Giddings Oliveira Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 751 was adopted by the House on March
	13, 2017, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House