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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Honorable Pat Breen, Irish minister of state for |
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employment and small business, is visiting the Texas Capitol on |
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March 13, 2017, and this occasion provides a welcome opportunity to |
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pay tribute to this distinguished guest and to celebrate the many |
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contributions that the people of Ireland have made to Texas over the |
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centuries; and |
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WHEREAS, Minister Breen began his career in public service as |
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a member of the Clare County Council, where he served from 1999 to |
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2002; since 2002 he has held a seat in the Dáil Éireann, the lower |
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house of the Irish Oireachtas, or parliament; Minister Breen served |
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as chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and |
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Trade from June 2011 to February 2016, and in May 2016 he assumed |
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his present post as a minister of state in the Department of Jobs, |
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Enterprise, and Innovation; and |
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WHEREAS, It is fitting indeed that Minister Breen's visit |
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occurs during the week of St. Patrick's Day; this iconic Irish |
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holiday is celebrated widely across Texas, a state that has drawn |
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many people of Irish descent and that has been profoundly shaped by |
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their endeavors; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the earliest Irish residents of Texas was Hugo |
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Oconór, who served as governor of Coahuila and Texas from 1767 to |
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1770 and who helped lay the cornerstone of Mission San José; in the |
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early 19th century, Irish-born empresarios James McGloin, John |
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McMullen, and James Power settled Irish families in South Texas and |
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along the Gulf Coast, and a number of Irish took up homesteads in |
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Stephen F. Austin's first colony; during the Texas Revolution, at |
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least 15 Irish-born soldiers fought at the Alamo, four Irishmen |
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signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and a hundred fought |
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with Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, where they made up |
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one-seventh of his troops; and |
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WHEREAS, Immigration from Ireland increased dramatically |
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during the mid-19th century, and the new arrivals joined |
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established Irish Texans in helping to build the physical |
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infrastructure and develop the economy and social fabric of the |
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young state; prominent Irish natives included Samuel McKinney, an |
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early president of Austin College, and Father Michael Sheehan, who |
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established the first Catholic church in Austin; later in the |
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century, John William Mallet served as the first faculty chair at |
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The University of Texas, and the artist Henry Arthur McArdle |
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specialized in paintings based on Texas history, several of which |
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hang in the State Capitol; today, some two million Texans, |
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representing eight percent of the state's population, claim Irish |
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ancestry and are making their mark in both the private and the |
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public sphere; and |
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WHEREAS, Ireland remains a key friend of Texas and a strong |
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economic partner, with trade between the two currently valued at |
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about $2.2 billion; in recognition of the affinity between their |
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dynamic societies and of the potential for a further expansion of |
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economic relations, Ireland opened a consulate general in Texas in |
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2015; located in Austin, at Ireland House Texas, the staff of the |
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diplomatic mission is joined by representatives of two government |
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agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland; and |
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WHEREAS, The people of Texas share deep, historic bonds with |
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the people of Ireland, and it is a privilege to recognize those ties |
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and the immeasurable contributions of Irish Texans to the growth |
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and vitality of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby welcome Minister Pat Breen of Ireland to the |
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Texas Capitol and join with him in celebrating the long-standing |
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friendship that exists between Ireland and this state; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Minister Breen as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |