US: More than 1,000 undocumented Irish immigrants and their supporters from all over the US braved torrential rain and flash floods to travel through the night to Washington DC for their second rally in the city for legal status.
By the time they arrived, the sun shone on Capitol Hill as the activists, wearing green-and-white "Legalise the Irish" T-shirts, fanned out across the US seat of government to lobby senators and congressmen.
"We're going to win. I didn't come to lose. I came to win. What about you?" roared Senator Edward Kennedy at the start of the afternoon rally.
The drive for comprehensive immigration reform has lost momentum since the Senate approved a reform Bill last month, with members of the House of Representatives shying away from any measure that would legalise illegal immigrants already in the US.
Republican senators John McCain and Sam Brownback and congressmen from both parties addressed the Irish rally, urging activists to keep up the pressure on elected representatives to agree a Bill before November's mid-term elections.
"You've got to speak up. This country moves by public opinion," Mr Brownback said.
A group of Irish politicians travelled to Washington to offer support to the rally. They were Fine Gael's Simon Coveney, Michael Ring and Paul Connaughton; Fianna Fáil's John Cregan and Paschal Mooney; Sinn Féin's Seán Crowe; and the SDLP's PJ Bradley.
Robbie Magean (24) took a nine-hour bus journey from Boston with his friends Jonathan O'Toole, Alan Crosbie and Derek Gorman, all of whom came to the US a few months ago for construction work.
"We're here to offer support. Some of the boys we work with have been here for 10 years and can't go back home for a visit," Mr Magean said.
Immigration reform activists received a boost on Tuesday when Republican congressman Chris Cannon comfortably beat off a primary challenge in Utah from an anti-immigration rival.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have been slow to embrace comprehensive immigration reform, despite President George W Bush's support for it.
Mr McCain said yesterday that he would consider a compromise proposal that would delay the guest-worker programme and the legalisation of undocumented immigrants until after America's borders are made more secure.
"I think it's worth discussing. Many of us have said we could work on border enforcement and, at the same time, work on other aspects that would take more time," he said.
Mr Kennedy said a delay was likely in any case because it would take a few years to set up the guest-worker programme and the structure to process an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants onto a pathway to citizenship.
The Senate Bill calls for a temporary worker programme and a three-tier system for dealing with illegal immigrants now in the US.
Those who have been in the country for more than five years could stay and apply for citizenship, provided they pay a fine, settle back-taxes, learn English and have no serious criminal records.
Those in the US for two to five years would eventually have to return to a point of entry in Mexico or Canada and apply for a green card, which could allow their immediate return.
About two million undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years would have to go home.