The park’s statue of Robert Emmet
By Irish Echo Staff
The Irish American unity Conference is holding its annual commemoration of Irish Patriot Robert Emmet on Sunday, September 22, 11.30 a.m. at Robert Emmet Park, Massachusetts Avenue and 24th Street, NW in Washington, D.C.
The gathering, which will also be a celebration of the park’s official naming after Emmet, will include an Ancient Order of Hibernians color guard. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) has been invited, said the IAUC.
Lined up to attend is Irish Ambassador to the United States Dan Mulhall and former congressman Joe Crowley, who championed the park’s naming and dedication in the House of Representatives.
Senator Murkowski, in turn, played a pivotal role in securing the park’s official designation by way of Senate legislation.
Murkowski, as chair of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, added a section to the Natural Resources Management Act.
That section, part of the bill S.47, provided for the re-designation of National Park Service Reservation 302 as “Robert Emmet Park.”
Reservation 302 was the previous name for the site of the statue of Emmet, who was executed after a failed uprising 1803 and who became famous for his “speech from the dock” at his trial.
That speech will be recreated at Sunday’s gathering during which there will also be Irish music and poetry readings.
