The Vice President: Well, good evening to you all.
Fellow Americans, Irish friends,
distinguished guests.
I'm Mike Pence and I'm the 48th Vice President of the
United States of America.
(Applause.) It's my honor, along with my wife, Karen
Pence, to welcome you on behalf of the First Family
to the White House on this very special occasion.
It is such an honor for the two of us to be able
to welcome you here and welcome a special guest to
the White House, and of course, our host to this
podium for this 55-year-old tradition.
Since Irish Ambassador John Joseph Hearne left a
box of Ireland's most famous symbol at the White
House in 1952, the shamrock exchange has
grown to become a festive sign of enduring
friendship during this memorable week, and an
eternal bond between the American people and
the people of Ireland.
Now, the Irish are one of the strongest and most
beautiful threads in our national fabric here in
the United States.
For centuries, the sons and daughters of Ireland
have come here from across the Atlantic.
More than 32 million Americans now trace their
heritage back to the Emerald Isle.
And I say with a grateful heart and deep humility,
I'm one of them.
(Applause.)
My grandfather, Richard
Michael Cowley*, stepped off a boat onto Ellis
Island in 1023.
And that's how Michael Richard Pence got to serve
in the White House.
My grandfather, as the legend of our family says,
was told by my great-grandmother that he
needed to go to America.
She said, there's a future there for you.
He wouldn't see his mother for 25 years, and he often
spoke of their separation with a heavy heart.
My grandfather came here, like so many generations
of Irish-Americans did, with a dream, but with
character and with work ethic and a determination
to build a family, a good name.
And so he did.
My mother, who is 83 years young, bright red hair and
blue eyes, is still with us today, and his memory
and her influence continues to define my
life, The truth is my grandfather was very
typical of the millions that would come
to these shores.
He embodied all that's best about the Irish --
sturdy work ethic, faith in God, love of family,
patriotism.
And those are the enduring contributions of people of
Irish descent in the history of this country.
It's extraordinary to think of the contributions
that the Irish have made.
In every single American conflict since our
Revolutionary War, the Irish people have enriched
America in incalculable ways,
and they always will.
When I speak of those character qualities I know
that they apply to the two people that we have the
privilege of introducing tonight.
First is our special guest -- it's my high honor to
invite him to the podium, along with our host.
So, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
welcoming the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland,
Enda Kenny; his wife, Fionnuala; and my friend,
the 45th President of the United States of America,
Donald Trump.
(Applause.)
The President: Thank you very much.
It's a great honor.
Taoiseach, Mrs. Kenny, Ambassador Anderson,
Dr. Lowe, Vice President Pence, and distinguished
guests, we gather here today in the White House
to take part in the traditional Shamrock
Ceremony and to celebrate the strong ties between
the United States and a truly great country, Ireland.
I also want to extend a special welcome to a group
of distinguished local political and society
leaders -- and they are real leaders -- who are
with us from Northern Ireland -- great people --
including the Mayor of Belfast and the Head of
Northern Ireland Civil Service -- that's a
lot of power there.
(Laughter.)
Lord Mayor Kingston and Sir Malcolm
McKibbin -- and it's wonderful to have you.
Where are you folks?
Where are you?
(Applause.)
Thank you.
They're going to be having a great open championship
very soon -- you know that, right?
(Laughter.)
At a great course.
At a great, great course.
St. Patrick's Day has become a truly important
occasion in the United States -- one embraced by
Americans of all faiths and of all backgrounds.
I've been to many of them and we love it.
The Shamrock Ceremony is a tradition that symbolizes
the bond between our two countries.
It dates back to 1952 when the Irish Ambassador to
the United States, John Joseph Hearne, sent a box
of shamrocks to a President who did a very
good job --
Harry S. Truman.
Our strong ties go back throughout
American history.
Irish-Americans played a vital role in preserving
our Union during its hour of greatest need.
So true, played a very, very big role.
Many distinguished themselves in the American
Civil War with their grit and their bravery and
their courage, earning the nickname, the
"Fighting Irish."
And I know a lot about the Irish -- they fight.
They're tough.
(Laughter.)
I know a lot.
I know more than I'm ever going to tell you.
(Laughter.)
And when American Armed Forces
joined the fight in Europe during World War II, 75
years ago, our heroic troops first stepped off
ships in Belfast Harbor in Northern Ireland.
Throughout the centuries, hardworking
Irish-Americans contributed mightily to
America's innovation and to America's prosperity.
They often overcame great hardship -- really, I
mean, it's like the hardship they overcame for
us, for our people, is inspiring and really
helped a relatively young nation beyond what anyone
really understands or knows.
So we want to thank you -- just an amazing, an
amazing history.
President John F.
Kennedy, in an address to the Irish Parliament, said
that "It is that quality of the Irish -- that
remarkable combination of hope, confidence, and
imagination -- that is needed more
than ever today."
Now, he said that a long time ago, but it's perhaps
even more true today.
The words of America's first Irish-Catholic
President ring just as true.
We hope confidence -- and I tell you what we want
now is a lot of things, but we need that great
Irish confidence -- and they are confident people,
aren't they, Mike?
(Applause.)
And I tell you what, we all want
it together to grow in the 21st century.
And grow we will.
As I say, bigger and better and stronger than
ever before.
We must have the hope to believe in a better
future, the confidence to pursue it, and the
imagination to figure out how to get there.
A new optimism is sweeping across our nation.
You see that when you look at the numbers -- the
optimism is at the highest level in many, many years.
And as America gains renewed strength, Ireland
will find us to be an ever-faithful partner and
an always loyal friend.
We will be there for you, and we will be there for you.
(Applause.)
So thank you for being here.
I wish you a very, very happy St. Patrick's Day.
And God bless you and may God bless Ireland, and
Northern Ireland, and may God bless America.
Thank you very much.
(Applause.)
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Taoiseach Kenny: Mr. President, Mr. Vice
President, ladies and gentlemen.
It's a great honor to be back again in the most
famous house in the world to celebrate St. Patrick's
Day, the most special of days for Irish men and
Irish women and those of Irish descent
the world over.
Since I had the privilege of being elected as
Taoiseach in 2011, I've had the pleasure of being
here in the White House each March to mark the
enduring connections between our country and
the United States.
Fionnuala and I would like sincerely to thank
President Trump for so graciously continuing this
great tradition of hospitality which means so
much to Irish people everywhere.
I'm proud, sir, to have the opportunity to
contribute to maintaining and developing relations
between Ireland and the United States,
particularly at the beginning of the new era
in our country's relationship following
your election, Mr. President.
Let me congratulate you and wish you and your
administration the very best as you begin your
term of office.
(Applause.)
This job, the job you hold, is
exceptionally demanding and exceptionally difficult.
The United States remains the most influential, as
well as the most powerful country in the world.
You hold the hopes and the future of America, and
indeed, the world in your hands.
But let me thank you for giving so much of your
time today to this visit.
We had an excellent meeting, a first-class
meeting this morning in the Oval Office, not there
very often, where we discussed a variety of
important issues of mutual concern.
And I want to assure you, sir, of our commitment to
working closely with you and your administration as
you face the many challenges up ahead.
The ties that bind our two countries are
deep and historic.
And Ireland and the United States have a unique
relationship that goes back to the earliest days
of the original 14 colonies.
Irish foreign military officers assisted George
Washington to win that war of independence.
Indeed, they've fought in every war for
America since then.
And this very house was designed by James Hoban
from Kilkenny, modeled in part after the Leinster
House in Dublin, where the Irish parliament has met
on our own independence since 1922.
It's fitting that we gather here each year to
celebrate St. Patrick and his legacy.
He, too, of course, was an immigrant.
And though he is, of course, the patron saint
of Ireland, for many people around the globe,
he is also a symbol of, indeed, the
patron of immigrants.
Here in America, your great country, 35 million
people claim Irish heritage, and the Irish
have contributed to the economic, social,
political and cultural life of this great country
over the last 200 years.
Ireland came to America because, deprived of
liberty, deprived of opportunity, of safety, of
even food itself, the Irish believed, four
decades before Lady Liberty lifted her lamp,
we were the
"wretched refuse on the teeming shore."
We believed in the shelter of America, and the
compassion of America,
and the opportunity of America.
We came, and we became Americans.
We lived the words of John F.
Kennedy long before we heard them: We asked not
what America could do for us, but what we
could do for America.
And we still do.
We want to give, and not to take.
We know the Irish have built the bridges and the
roads, protected the public as firefighters
and police officers.
We've cared for the sick in hospitals, entertained
as poets, as singers and writers, as politicians,
as judges and legislators.
And as entrepreneurs, they provided hundreds of
thousands of jobs for Americans, including most
recently, in exciting technology companies.
Two-way trade in goods is approaching $100 billion a
year at the moment.
Irish firms employ 100,000 people across 50
states in the U.S.
And we want to build on this for the future.
Mr. President, as a small island on the edge of
Europe, a natural bridge between the United States
and Europe, and as a committed member of the
European Union and a close friend of the United
States, we will work hard with you, Mr. President,
and with your administration in pursuit
of strong and open relations between the
United States and the European Union, including
the strong trade relationships for the
mutual benefit of millions of people either side
of the Atlantic.
I believe that the strong people-to-people links
that Ireland and the United States have
developed over the generations will help us
in this endeavor.
And I wish you and the American people every
success and happiness in the future.
To Irish-Americans coast to coast, I say, these
days especially, we hold you in our hearts.
And tonight, I thank you again for your
warm hospitality.
Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, may I wish you
and your lovely families every good wish and
blessing on this very special day.
Indeed, I'm reminded in many ways of the dream of
another American President -- which Ireland will work
with you for -- when he spoke the words and said,
"My dream is of a place and a time where America
will once again be seen as the last, best
hope of Earth."
Spoken by Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. President, Ireland will help you build on
that foundation to achieve the ultimate dream.
Thank you, sir.
And God bless you.
(Applause.)