By Niall O’Dowd

Despite the desperate weather, over 3,000 of us gathered in the shadow of the Capitol to send a St. Patrick’s message to Congress that immigration reform was the vital concern for the Irish this year.

There was a sense of a major roll of the dice, a feeling that if immigration reform does not come through this year that the young Irish-born communities from coast to coast could well start putting up the shutters and turning off the lights. It would be America’s incalculable loss if that occurs.

It is a testament to their never say die spirit that the young Irish have taken the matter into their own hands. They are nannies, bartenders, construction workers and waitresses by day, but by evening and on rally days like this they are fully fledged activists, working the Capitol like old pros on their third lobby day here.

From early in the morning, and despite the snow and ice that closed down much of official Washington, the buses planes and trains brought the young Irish to the capitol to make their case.

They were there from New York, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Florida and California and other points north, south, east and west.

The California delegation, 200 strong, had mostly flown in overnight and were scheduled to fly back overnight the same day. It was a level of dedication rarely seen in a place where most visitors are full time lobbyists, a/k/a snake oil salesmen.

I asked Celine Kenneally, the Kerry woman who has done an amazing job marshaling the California delegation, where this extraordinary commitment comes from.

“They truly believe in the American dream,” she told me. “They feel they belong here as much as every other generation of Irish who came here for a new life. They want to tell their story.”

From Ireland came four members of the Irish Parliament and one from the European Parliament. They were heartily welcomed.

“This issue is definitely now on the radar,” said John Cregan, the Limerick TD (member of Parliament) who headed up the delegation. “Last time we were here the spirit and dedication of the ILIR members really moved us. The commitment and energy of the young volunteers was a sight to see.”

A sign of the times is that the rally was covered extensively by the Irish and America media. CNN was there and NPR ran four minutes on their highly rated show All Things Considered, while The Irish Times, Sunday Tribune and Irish Independent were all on hand from Ireland. It seems somewhere a light has gone off, and not before time.

But the star of the show for me was not the politicians like Senator Edward Kennedy and Hillary Clinton who came to the rally to show their support.

Rather it was a cute young fellow named Darragh. I saw him in the crowd as cute as a button, about six months old nestled in his mother’s arms and wearing a Legalize the Irish t-shirt.

I invited him up on the stage and told his story as his mother had told me. They wanted him to grow up in America. They loved this country and wanted him and them to be part of it for ever. He was what their future was about, and they wanted him to grow up to be president.

Darragh cooed happily in his mother’s arms as I was explaining this. His parents were obviously not the hardened criminal types so many anti-immigrant groups make the undocumented out to be. I just wanted Lou Dobbs to show up with a scarlet letter and pin it on Darragh and identify him as a clear and present danger to the state.

There are thousands of families out there of all ethnic backgrounds who want nothing more than what Darragh’s parents want, to be left alone to live their American dream.

Yes, September 11 did change everything, but it was not a permanent change. I am more convinced than ever that the pendulum must swing back and the forces of good that immigration unleashes the hard work ethic, the striving for success, the creation of stable family units and new communities must come back to the foreground in the immigration debate.

While the Irish are not the largest ingredient in the melting pot that is now undocumented America, we have a clear and passionate voice. This St. Patrick’s Day we should all use it to remind those who can help of the need for action on our issue.