Ireland's economic recovery is due to the sacrifices of the people, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told a business gathering in Atlanta.
He added that the Celtic Tiger years were a "veneer" driven in many cases by "shallowness and greed".
Mr Kenny is on a three-city tour of the United States to mark St Patrick's Day.
He began his six-day visit in Atlanta, Georgia, where he met Governor Nathan Deal and Mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed.
First stop for Taoiseach @EndaKennyTD on his US tour - Irish Chamber of Commerce breakfast in #Atlanta @rtenews pic.twitter.com/dUykZu6HjZ
— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) March 13, 2015He spoke with prominent business people, including the CEOs of some companies with significant Irish operations, including CocaCola and OldCastle - a subsidiary of CRH.
He later paid a visit to Wicklow singer Hozier ahead of his gig tonight in Atlanta.
Mr Kenny described Hozier as the most famous man in Ireland and the singer said he was delighted to meet the Taoiseach.
The Taoiseach said his favourite Hozier song was the worldwide hit ‘Take Me to Church’.
Mr Kenny also met Hozier's band and backstage team - most of whom are also Irish.
The Taoiseach told Hozier that his children were big fans.
Earlier, Kenny received the Phoenix Award from the Mayor of Atlanta for an Irish priest who died 151 years ago.
Fr Thomas O'Reilly, from Drumcora, Co Cava, is credited with saving Atlanta City Hall, the court house and five churches of different faiths and is considered an American Civil War hero.
During the 1864 Siege of Atlanta he negotiated with the Union Army - who were determined to burn the city to the ground - not to destroy those seven buildings.
Shortly after the mayor's award, a boy approached the Taoiseach and asked to speak to him. The youngster proceeded to tell him that he was his "greatest Irish inspiration".
Jack Caffrey, 11, from Atlanta, said his grandparents were from Co Clare and they had told him all about the Taoiseach.
He said he always looked to important people like Winston Churchill and Mr Kenny.
He said he liked that Enda Kenny "always has confidence in the face of any trouble and that Ireland had been through some rough times and he had been able to lead them and nothing stood in his way".
The Taoiseach asked Jack for his address so he could write him a letter when he went back to Ireland.
Mr Kenny will be the Grand Marshal of the Atlanta St Patrick's Day parade before travelling on to Austin, Texas.
There the Taoiseach will officially open Ireland's newest consulate in the US.
He will speak at the South by Southwest festival, meeting with some of the Irish start-up companies taking part in the technology strand of the internationally-known event.
He will also meet Texas Governor Greg Abbott before moving on to Washington DC, where there will be a number of economic engagements.
On St Patrick's Day, the Taoiseach will hold separate meetings with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, before attending a lunch on Capitol Hill hosted by Speaker of the House John Boehner.
He will then make the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrock to President Obama at a special reception at the White House.
In addition to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and six other ministers are also travelling to the US over the St Patrick's Day period.
