US: President Mary McAleese has told the people of Butte, a struggling copper-mining city in Montana, that Ireland's success is their achievement and that they have earned the enduring gratitude of the Irish people.
Addressing about 2,000 people in a vast high school gym, the President said the Irish people knew that the country had not won peace and prosperity solely through their own efforts.
"We know we stand on the shoulders of giants whose sacrifices, whose hard-earned dollars and cents sent home to Ireland helped a beaten and battered Ireland to find her feet and find her future. It is important to say thank you. I know your ancestors would be proud of today's Butte and today's Ireland."
Mrs McAleese's visit to Butte, where immigrants from the Beara Peninsula in west Cork settled in the 19th century, was the most notable public event the city had seen for years.
The visit dominated the local newspapers for days, with Mrs McAleese's address broadcast live on local radio. Irish flags and shamrocks appeared on every street.
"It's a night that will never be forgotten in Butte," said Tom McDonough, whose family moved to Butte from Co Offaly.
The pipes and drums of the local Ancient Order of Hibernians led the President into the Maroon Activities Center, where she was entertained by more than 100 Irish dancers, a high school band, a choir and a traditional Irish folk group.
"It's good to come to Butte, America, as they used to say in Ireland. I could call it Butte, Ireland," Mrs McAleese said.
She recalled the struggles of the first generation of Irish immigrants, who came to Butte to work in some of the most dangerous mines in the world, and the trauma of a later generation when the mines closed, putting 5,000 people out of work.
"They grew to love this place, to call it home, to watch their children and grandchildren root their lives here far away from Ireland, and yet Ireland was never far from their thoughts.
"To their children they transmitted a love of that far-off home that endures to this day . . . You cannot tell the story of Butte without telling the story of Ireland," she said.
Mrs McAleese, who has visited many Irish communities worldwide in her nine years as President, was visibly affected by the reception she received in Butte, which is still recovering from a succession of economic setbacks.
"I have been changed by this visit. I am overwhelmed. Your reception has been second to none," she said.
The President's husband, Martin McAleese, a former dentist, received an honorary lifetime membership of the Montana Dental Association with a citation praising his work in "organising dentistry and building bridges" in Ireland and elsewhere.
"It has been said that beside every great president is a great dentist," the citation said.