WIP

The 11th Annual Washington Ireland Program Congressional Forum took place on Wednesday, June 30th in the banquet hall of the Rayburn House Office Building. As the program's most prestigious event of the summer, it attracted huge interest from congressional offices, media outlets and supporters of WIP both new and old.

A total of eight Congressmen were able to attend in person. Each took the opportunity to praise the WIP program and those involved, and to share their personal vision of the Irish-American relationship into the future. Speaking on behalf of the WIP Class of 2010 were Neill Rogers, Ruth Murray, Darragh Minogue, Catherine Craig and Enda McNamara.

The last speaker of the night was Enda McNamara who is interning with Congressman Doyle. His distinguished oratory focused on the Irish-American relationship; two nations "although divided by distance, have been united by history and by the people who wrote that history". He noted that the two "partners in progress" can look forward to a shared future, "just as they have shared their past". To the Irish-Americans present he added, "while Ireland may not be the land of your birth, it is somewhere you will feel at home whenever you should return".

The 11th WIP Congressional Forum proved an enlightening night for all involved, and reaffirmed the program's unique and evolving role at the center of Irish-American relations. Many thanks to all who supported the event and our congratulations again to speakers Neill, Catherine, Ruth, Darragh and Enda for representing the program so successfully there.

Supporting WIP on the night (in order of speaking) were:
Congressman Peter King (R-NY),
Congressman Crowley (D-NY)
Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI),
Congressman Michael McMahon (D-NY),
Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA),
Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI),
Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) and
Congressman Richard Neal (D-WIP intern Enda McNamara speaking at the 11th Annual Washington Ireland Program Congressional Forum. Enda is an intern in the DC Congressional Office of US Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA).

Thank you also to our other co-sponsors who were unable to attend:
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH)
Congressman Tim Holden (D-PA)

Media coverage of the event can be found on RTE's "Morning Ireland" Program (8th July 2010) and "The Hill" newspaper at http://bit.ly/c4LI1G

Thank you to everyone who supported the event and congratulations to all involved.