SENATE RESOLUTION CELEBRATING ST. PATRICK S DAY AND HONORING IRISH AMERICAN PATRIOTS ROLE IN THE UNITED STATES WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, the official text

S3122 2026 -- S 3122 ======== LC006113 ======== STATE OF RHODE ISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N CELEBRATING ST. PATRICK S DAY AND HONORING IRISH AMERICAN PATRIOTS ROLE IN THE UNITED STATES WAR OF INDEPENDENCE Introduced By: Senators Lawson, Ciccone, Burke, Tikoian, LaMountain, Murray, and McKenney Date Introduced: March 17, 2026 Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration 1 WHEREAS, In recognition of the 250th anniversary of one of the first major victories for 2 the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. On Saint Patrick’s Day 1776, the British ended the eleven- 3 month siege of Boston when they withdrew from the city of Boston, leaving control of the city to 4 American forces including General John Sullivan, who was named Officer of the Day by George 5 Washington. Sullivan, the son of Irish immigrants, would go on to be the Governor of New 6 Hampshire and his brother James would later serve as the Governor of Massachusetts; and 7 WHEREAS, We celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and 8 the eight Irish American signatories thereof, including three who were born in Ireland. Thomas 9 McKean, who went on to serve as the President of the Continental Congress, Charles Carroll, 10 James Smith, George Taylor, Matthew Thornton, Edward Rutledge, Thomas Lynch Jr., and 11 George Read; and 12 WHEREAS, These eight men came from different communities and different 13 upbringings, ranging from the sons of lawyers and clergymen to the sons of farmers and 14 indentures, yet they stood united in their efforts to create a republic in the United States which 15 inspired generations in Ireland to seek and ultimately secure an Irish republic, and whose spirit of 16 independence is at the heart of the Republics they would crucially help found in America and 17 Ireland. Their brand of Irish defiance and enlightenment republican ideas were used to create an 18 alternative society for free people; and 19 WHEREAS, The first 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed by 1 John Dunlap who emigrated from county Tyrone, and it first appeared internationally in the 2 Belfast Newsletter in Ireland; and 3 WHEREAS, Two hundred and fifty years ago, Stephen Moylan, George Washington’s 4 Irish American aide-de-camp, first committed the phrase “United States of America” to paper; 5 and 6 WHEREAS, It was reported to the British Parliament by Lord Mountjoy that, “America 7 was lost by Irish emigrants…I am assured from the best authority, a major part of the American 8 Army was composed of Irish and that the Irish language was as commonly spoken in the 9 American ranks as English, I am also informed it was their valor that determined the contest”; 10 now, therefore be it 11 RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby commemorates the 12 anniversary of these occasions and the contributions of Irish American Patriots in the struggle for 13 independence; and be it further 14 RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 15 transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Senator Mark Daly, Chair of the Senate of 16 Ireland. ======== LC006113 ======== LC006113 - Page 2 of 2