Posted on 03/17/2017 3:55:33 PM PDT by Jyotishi
Photo -- US President Donald Trump speaks alongside Taoiseach of Ireland Enda Kenny (L) during a St. Patricks Day Reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, March 16, 2017. (AFP)
Saint Patrick is believed to have been born somewhere in Britain.
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny caused a stir at the White House on the eve of Saint Patrick's day on Friday, pointedly telling President Donald Trump that the festival is in honor of an immigrant.
Before a sea of green-clad revelers in the East Room of the White House last night, Kenny made a pointed reference to controversies over Trump's immigration policies, as the president looked on. "It's fitting that we gather here each year to celebrate St Patrick and his legacy. He, too, of course, was an immigrant," Kenny said.
The saint is believed to have been born somewhere in Britain. "And though he is, of course, the patron saint of Ireland, for many people around the globe, he is also a symbol of, indeed, the patron of immigrants," Kenny said.
Around 35 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, ensuring that successive presidents have put on a green tie and greeted the Irish prime minister -- or Taoiseach -- to the White House on or around Saint Patrick's day. Trump praised Ireland as "a truly great country" and the Irish as "tough."
"I know a lot about the Irish -- they fight. They're tough," he joked.
This year Saint Patrick's falls on the day that Trump's ban on refugees and migrants from six majority Muslim countries was due to have gone into effect. The ban was halted by a federal judge, but Trump has vowed to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Kenny, amid controversy in Ireland over whether he should have met Trump at all, pressed his point further. "The Irish have contributed to the economic, social, political and cultural life of this great country over the last 200 years," Kenny said.
The Irish "came to America because, deprived of liberty, deprived of opportunity, of safety, of even food itself, the Irish believed, four decades before Lady Liberty lifted her lamp, we were the 'wretched refuse on the teeming shore','" Kenny said. "We believed in the shelter of America, and the compassion of America, and the opportunity of America. We came, and we became Americans."
What? Don’t you remember all the old Irish suicide bombers back in the day? Welfare sucking, rapists, miscreants, christian jew hating Irish of the old days?? See how civilized they’ve become? Surely the Muslims can do just the same if given half a dozen chances?
Just another pompous mick telling off an American president. As if America hasn’t done enough for Irish - and continues to do.
I have been to Ireland. There are no snakes there to eat the rats. The island is overrun with rats. Kenney is a rat.
Oh, so they have limits on immigration in Ireland. So why do they expect the USA to have none?
The Vikings raiders were “immigrants” to Ireland too
That’s just CTR (Corrected The Record) info put into place on commission from the Snake-Skin Boot Consortium.
Don’t tell anyone but I’ve heard rumor that there’s a whole new timeline being spawned by a Saint Patrick of Australia in a multiverse near by.
Yes, but I’m sure that St Patrick did not march into public schools and demand prayer rooms be built in them when there are no such things for other religions or that he liked grabbing teenage girls inappropriately or refused to listen to women teachers since he thought that women should always be subservient to men or took police officers’ guns and shot innocent bystanders with them.
Shut yer gob ya brazen hussy or I’ll give ye me belt!
Enda “Kenny”. Auto-correct sabotages me again.
Enda Kenny is a man.......
Sorry, but Patrick was a war slave captured in a raid on his town by an Iris war lord.
Story about rape of 14 year old girl by 2 illegals WHILE IN SHOOL:
http://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/117137569#p117137569
http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1489796882346.jpg
http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1489797316375.jpg
http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1489798116835.jpg
I agree Dan. I get sloppy at times.
FOllow up to prior post: https://twitter.com/ABC7Kevin/status/842795379330629632
Why did God create alcohol?
So the Irish wouldn’t take over the world.
(although today’s Irish would have a hard time taking over Rhode Island)
Was he a legal immigrant. Big Fn difference. We’re against illegal immigrants, not immigrants. AND we want immigrants to come to our country and respect our law, love our country and assimilate. What we are getting with illegals are people who are coming to make money and send it back to Mexico, diss our country and don’t assimilate. That’s BS
Guess you don’t realize how many Irish Freepers from RI you just offended. This is why I wonder sometimes why I donate to FR with so many stupid people on here.
Foreign PM even offhandedly criticizing US on this day not OK. What an insult to the US. Ireland criticizing US immigrant policy when they didn’t lift a finger to fight the Nazis in WW2 ? Ireland that only accepted 760 Syrian refugees last year criticizing US for not doing enough ??
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