SENATE MEMORIAL 61

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Brenda G. McKenna and Bill B. O'Neill and William E. Sharer

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING MARCH 8, 2023 "ST. PATRICK'S DAY AND THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been reached, and while there are still some outstanding issues, the agreement has been a considerable success; and

     WHEREAS, there are people on the island of Ireland today who benefited from the continuous bipartisan support for the Good Friday Agreement over the last twenty-five years of state legislators, successive United States presidents, the United States senate, the United States house of representatives and elected officials working in partnership with the government of the United Kingdom and the government of Ireland; and

     WHEREAS, the Good Friday Agreement is honored on this year of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its ratification as the framework for lasting peace in Northern Ireland; and

     WHEREAS, the Good Friday Agreement represented a landmark breakthrough that provided Ireland with a political framework to address its future; and

     WHEREAS, the Good Friday Agreement acknowledged the right of differing political traditions to pursue their goals of remaining part of the United Kingdom or of Irish unity; and

     WHEREAS, the Good Friday Agreement demonstrated democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences, recognizing the British and Irish governments' ongoing support and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement; and

     WHEREAS, the Good Friday Agreement is the irrevocable foundation of the peace process regardless of the United Kingdom's status regarding the European Union; and

     WHEREAS, despite the historic progress of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, important issues remain unresolved in Northern Ireland, including securing justice for victims of state-sponsored violence and other violence and providing for the rights of all sections of the community; and

     WHEREAS, members of both political parties in the United States came together to support the Good Friday Agreement; and

     WHEREAS, on the seventeenth of March during the annual celebration of the feast of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, Irish Americans join with men, women and children of all ethnic origins and for one day become Irish and celebrate Saint Patrick; and

     WHEREAS, this year, there is also celebration and thanks for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that March 8, 2023 be declared "St. Patrick's Day and the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement Day" in the senate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the flag of Ireland be recognized as a symbol of the link between the United States and Ireland and be celebrated as a symbol of peace; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the chair of the American Irish state legislators caucus.

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