Irish Senator Mark Daly, a special guest in the South Dakota Senate, presented the Irish flag to Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden and Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels as part of the American Irish State Legislature Caucus.
The caucus aims to strengthen bipartisan ties between Ireland and the U.S. at the state and local government levels.
Daly emphasized the historical connection between the two nations, mentioning the 175th anniversary of Thomas Francis Meagher flying an Irish flag in Montana.
Meagher, appointed Territorial Governor of Montana in the 1800s, has familial connections to Sen. Ryan Maher, who noted Meagher’s role as an Irish revolutionary and his family’s pride in being related to an Irish “rabble rouser.”
The visit highlighted the enduring relationship between the U.S. and Ireland, with recognition of U.S. involvement in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.