In the near future, we will be introducing a resolution that would recognize March 17, 2026, as “St. Patrick’s Day” in Pennsylvania and celebrate the role Irish Americans played in the founding of the United States.
 
Tradition has it that at age 16, Patrick was captured, along with all of the servants of his father’s estate, by Irish marauders, then sold to a Druid chief and taken to what is now known as County Antrim, in the Province of Ulster, Ireland.  While in captivity, Patrick experienced a religious awakening.  Driven by visions urging him to return to his native land, Patrick escaped his captors, undertaking a perilous journey in the process.  Upon his return home, Patrick dedicated his life to religion, studying in France, where he was ordained as a priest and, later, consecrated as a bishop.
 
March 17, 461, is generally recognized as the date of St. Patrick’s death.  Each March, during annual parades and celebrations honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, Irish Americans join with people of other ethnic origins in honoring St. Patrick and demonstrating a mutual love for Ireland.
 
The resolution would also celebrate the role Irish Americans played in the founding of our country.  Scholarly research has shown that, during the Revolutionary War, soldiers of Irish descent constituted 40-50% of the Continental Army by the time the Army reached Valley Forge in 1778.  In addition, the eight Irish Americans who signed the Declaration of Independence stood united in their efforts to create a republic in the United States, inspiring generations in Ireland to seek and ultimately secure an Irish republic.
 
Please join us in honoring the life of St. Patrick and celebrating the role Irish Americans played in the founding of the United States.