"Well, I do want you to know that for Nancy and me these last few days will remain in our hearts forever. From Shannon to Galway, to Ballyporeen to Dublin, you have truly made us feel as welcome as the flowers in May, and for this we'll always be grateful to you and to the Irish people.
Now, of course I didn't exactly expect a chilly reception. As I look around this chamber, I know I can't claim to be a better Irishman than anyone here, but I can perhaps claim to be an Irishman longer than most any of you here.
There are those who just refuse to let me forget that.
I also have some other credentials. I am the great-grandson of a Tipperary man; I'm the President of a country with the closest possible ties to Ireland; and I was a friend of Barry Fitzgerald.
One Irishman told me he thought I would fit in. ``Mr. President,'' he said, ``you love a good story, you love horses, you love politics -- the accent we can work on.''Ronald Reagan
Address Before a Joint Session of the Irish National Parliament June 4, 1984
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