Whereas, For four centuries, Americans of Irish Heritage have contributed their lives and fortunes to their adopted country; and,

Whereas, The Irish were the largest European group to inhabit the thirteen colonies in the 75 years leading to the 1776 Revolution and played a significant role in the War for Independence; and,

Whereas, Irish Americans have excelled in all professions and occupations—education, science, medicine, the arts, politics and in all aspects of human endeavors; and,

Whereas, The Irish American Cultural Institute and other Irish organizations seek to preserve and promote Irish traditions, heritage and fellowship of Irish and Irish American descendants in the State of Michigan; and,

Whereas, Mackinaw Island Fur Trader Charles O’Malley promoted a large-scale immigration of families from his native Mayo, Ireland to Michigan in 1834; and,

Whereas, Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company in Michigan, was the grandson of an immigrant from County Cork, Ireland; and,

Whereas, Highland Park, Michigan was the birthplace of Irish-American crooner Bill Haley who, along with the Comets, took the country by storm with hits such as “Summertime Blues,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and “Rock Around the Clock”; and,

Whereas, According to the 2000 census, 1,067,474 Michigan residents, or 10.7% of our state’s population claimed Irish ancestry; and now therefore be it

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim the week of March 13, 2005, as Irish Week in Michigan.