Proclamation 5198.
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/statutes-at-large/vol-98/proclamation-5198·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
98 STAT. 3595 Proclamation 5198 of May 23, 1984 Galway’s Quincentennial Year, 1984 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Many Americans trace their heritage directly to Ireland. All Americans have benefitted greatly from the distinctive Irish cultural contribution, plus the creativity and enduring effort of Irish people from colonial days to the present. Many Americans have a special affection for a city on Ireland’s western shore, Galway, which this year celebrates its Quincentennial as a mayoral city.
For many Americans, the song “Galway Bay” has a special place in their hearts. Even those not of Irish extraction are aware that this song encapsulates a bit of the history of Ireland and its proud culture, and serves as a reminder of what separation from a beloved land meant to many Irish emigrants in the United States. The area of Galway has been inhabited since the thirteenth century. A Franciscan monastic centre was established in 1291 and served as a focus for scholarship and religious activities.
The town grew in prominence, and its chief officer was granted the rank of Mayor in 1484. Historically, Galway’s relative geographical isolation from the central seat of English power fostered a spirit of independence, which it has nurtured to this day. Galway’s importance as an international trading center gave medieval Galway a cosmopolitan flavor, perhaps unique in Ireland. Tradition has it that Christopher Columbus and many other explorers visited Galway on one of their voyages.
Medieval Galway developed into a de facto city-state, ruled by a merchant oligarchy, the famous “tribes.” Galway’s history is a rich one involving trading and cultural contributions from many nations and the more direct impact of the Normans and the English. Pre–Cromwellian Galway became an imporant seat of learning, boasting the famous free school founded by the Lynch family. This was swept away in the havoc caused by Cromwell’s forces in 1652 and marked the end of Galway’s Golden Age.
The Williamite wars, brought to an end by the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, added further to the decline of the city. The greatest calamity of all to befall the city was the great famine of 1846–47, which seemed to mark the end and to relegate the city to the level of country town. The Seaport, which had once rung with the laughter of many tongues in better days, now echoed with the wails of country-and city-folk alike as they left the city for the last time on board the dreaded coffin ships headed for North America.
The darkness of the nineteenth century gave way to a century bright with prospects for the city of Galway. The new Irish state encouraged Galway’s growth as a university city and industrial center, and once again the city began to expand and develop. Today, Galway is a modern and thriving city, a center of culture, learning and industry. The “city of the tribes,” which has given so much to Irish culture and history, rightly enjoys the admiration of all who have a special affection for Ireland.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby recognize Galway’s Quincentennial Year, 1984. I call upon the people of the United States to join in celebrating and honoring Galway’s Quincentennial with appropriate ceremonies and activities. 98 STAT. 3596 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 23rd day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.
RONALD REAGAN 5199 May 24, 1984 National Farm Safety Week, 1984 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Proclamation 5199 of May 24, 1984 National Farm Safety Week, 1984 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Agriculture has always been one of our most important industries. Although our ancestors were bound to the land in order to survive, the remarkable advances of science and technology have overcome most limitations that dictated scarcity.
American agriculture has emerged as a marvel of efficiency and productivity. Now, fewer than five percent of our people are able to supply an abundance of high-quality but low-cost food, freeing most others for the task of providing the incredible array of goods and services we enjoy. Unfortunately, the accident rate for people engaged in agriculture is unacceptably high. Many thousands of farm and ranch residents and workers suffer disabling, crippling, or fatal injuries each year.
This unhappy toll is further compounded by many job-related illnesses. The direct economic costs of these problems exceed $5 billion annually, and there is no way to measure the pain, despair and family disruption that also result. This regrettable situation need not continue. The waste of life, limb, property and financial resources can be sharply reduced if rural people take a decisive stand for better safety and health. Accidents and job-related illnesses can be averted by safe and proper methods, control of hazards, and use of protective equipment when appropriate.
In addition, guidance in safety and health is readily available to all from the Extension Service, safety councils, volunteer safety leaders and the manufacturers of the products we use. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of September 16 through September 22, 1984, as National Farm Safety Week. I urge every man and woman engaged in farming and ranching to make basic safety a priority in every activity and task—on the job, in the home and on the highway.
I also urge those who serve and supply farmers and ranchers to encourage and support personal and community safety and health efforts in every possible way. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth. RONALD REAGAN 5200 May 25, 1984 National Digestive Diseases Awareness Week, 1984 Digitization Vendor By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation