To the tune of "If You're Irish, Come Into The Parlor," and "Happy Days Are Here Again," the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee honored departing Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill Jr. at its annual dinner last night.

Massachusetts Democrats packed the adjoining Imperial and Plaza ballrooms at Boston's Park Plaza Hotel, feasting on steak dinners and batting red, white, and blue balloons across the hall. Tickets for the gala event ranged from $150 to $500.

Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger and Treasurer Robert Crane led a half-hour tribute to O'Neill, featuring praise and recollections from Speaker of the Massachusetts House George Kevarian, Governor Michael S. Dukakis, and U.S. Senators John Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy '54.

Kennedy presented O'Neill with a portrait of "the giant Irish deer--for our dear Irish giant," and praised O'Neill's many achievements over his 17 terms, as a lawmaker and international figure who never lost touch with his constituents in the Eighth Congressional District. Kennedy also said O'Neill "has more good ideas than all the members of Congress."

Guests were also entertained by a group of singers called "The Treasury Notes."

O'Neill, 73, reflected on the many changes in politics, the nation, and his home state since he entered politics as a Massachusetts state representative in 1936. Citing the dismal statistics of the Depression, he said, "I have seen it all change."

O'Neill called Massachusetts "a Democratic success story" where "government is not part of the problem--it is part of the solution."

Joseph P. Kennedy II, a candidate to succeed O'Neill in Congress, attended the event, and over a dozen of his supporters bore campaign signs at the hotel's entrance. Several other candidates for the seat attended, including State Sen. George Bachrach (D-Watertown) and James Roosevelt Jr., who serves as counsel to the Democratic State Committee.