SCRANTON, Pa. — Former President Bill Clinton will address the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County at the group's 118th dinner on March 16 in downtown Scranton, the organization's said.
Daniel Haggerty, the organization's president, said Clinton's efforts in the White House to bring peace to Northern Ireland made him a "special choice" to keynote the annual dinner.
"With the President's personal insights and powerful historic experiences, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County will enjoy a St. Patrick's Day to remember in Scranton," Haggerty said.
Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he will deliver remarks at the event.
In 1998, after years of U.S. efforts, the British and Irish governments signed the Good Friday Agreements that ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland and established the Northern Ireland Assembly. It marked the end of the sectarian violence, known as the Troubles, between those loyal to the United Kingdom and those who wanted the north to become part of the Republic of Ireland.
" It enshrined majority rule with minority rights, shared-decision making, shared economic benefits, and special ties to the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom," Haggerty said in a statement.
The dinner on March 16 will be the first in Scranton in 40 years, the organization said. Genetti Manor's closing in 2022 relocated 2023's dinner to Mohegan Pennsylvania in Wilkes-Barre.