let me finish tonight with this. the irish have taken over the calendar, certainly mine. i was in new york on wednesday for irish american magazine. last night was the american ireland fun gala in washington with the big tribute to vice president joe biden. earlier today was a breakfast at the vice president's residence and this evening it's president obama's reception for the irish at the white house followed by a party given by the irish embassy. see i've got on my green shamrock tie now and thinking after the years in the distant past when i first discovered this irish thing i could lay claim to. one of the great advantages of the catholic school system, i never once doubted how fortunate we are to be born exactly who we are. i love being irish. i took incredible claim to it. anyway, it means something. it doesn't mean everything, but it means a lot. we have a clear sense of where we came from. while it's not something especially posh, it is something to be proud of. make that very proud. let's hope the old sense of being an underdog carries those of us who grew up, like me, to