The Irish In America

I've been writing about Germans and education in America recently, but I'm half Irish, and there's so much enjoyable to write about Ireland, the Irish, and Irish culture and influences in America! I've been researching this for quite a while, and here's the result.

When people think about the Irish in America, often the first things that come to mind are the St. Patrick's Day Parades, JFK, or Irish pride, and we also have the same attitude toward our paycheck. We love to count our cents.

But let's be honest, Irish-American ties are running far deeper than you would maybe expect at first glance. Do you, for example, know that the first man who stepped off Columbus' ship and was the first European set foot on American soil was an Irishman?

And do you know that the first U.S. woman who walked in space was Irish-American? Well, let's dig a little deeper and show you a few some Irish accomplishments in the U.S. Check out these exciting and sometimes maybe surprising facts about the Irish in America.

Do you know how many U.S. Presidents have Irish ancestry?

In general, it is believed that more than 40% of all presidents of the United States have Irish heritage. Still, of 22 of these important individuals, we know that they have confirmed Irish ancestry. The presidents that are known to be 'most Irish' are James Buchanan and Andrew Jackson, who both have parents that were all born in Ireland.

So, at least 22 U.S. presidents come with some Irish ancestry, though there are significant differences as to how much. Bill Clinton, for example, boasts Irish ancestry though there is no documentation of this, and Ronald Reagan had a great-grandfather who was Irish while his mother was of Scots-Irish descent. When talking about Kennedy, we all understand his Irish roots, and also James K. Polk had Scots-Irish ancestry.

The first man of Christopher Columbus’ ship who set foot on American soil was an Irishman

Christopher Columbus’ crew counted numerous Irishmen, but there's one (named Patrick Maguire) who really stands out. Maguire was born in Ireland, and he was actually the first member of Christopher Columbus’ crew who set foot on American ground in 1492.

The Declaration of Independence - three signers were born in Ireland

In 1777, on July 4, a group of 56 men signed the American Declaration of Independence. 48 of them were born on American soil, whereas eight were born abroad. Of these eight men, three were actually natives of Ireland.

These three Irish patriots of the Revolution are Matthew Thornton (member of the Continental Congress and Colonel of New Hampshire Militia), James Smith (Northern Ireland, member of the Continental Congress and Colonel of Pennsylvania Militia), and George Taylor (member of the Committee of Correspondence, and the Continental Congress).

Irishmen were involved in building the White House

Not only was the White House in Washington D.C. designed by an Irish architect (Kilkenny-born James Hoban), but it was also built by Irishmen. Immigrant workers from diverse backgrounds were involved in constructing the American presidential home. The Irish workers were mainly engaged in bricklaying and plastering.

James Hoban based his design of the White House on Leinster House in Dublin, a Georgian-style building that now serves as the home of the Irish Parliament (Dail Éireann). Hoban was also a supervising architect in the building of the Capitol (designed by William Thornton).

The Star Spangled Banner was composed by a blind Irishman

Generally, it is thought that a Brit composed The Star-Spangled Banner (John Stafford Smith). Though Smith (born in 1750) is usually credited for composing the tune, it is, in fact, based on a composition by the great Irish musician Turlough O'Carolan, a blind harper who had passed away some 35 years earlier than the American Revolution started.

Singer and musician Turlough O'Carolan is by many considered Ireland’s national composer, yet many Americans with Irish ancestry recognize O’Carolan as the person responsible for America's national anthem.

During the Revolutionary War, Ireland’s population was twice America’s population

These days, Ireland is just a tiny country, both in population (almost 5.1 million) and in size (just over 84,000 sq. km, or 32.000 sq. miles). Well, New York City by itself already has more than 8.4 million people, so almost twice as many as Ireland.

As of 2022, the U.S. population of the U.S. was around 330 million, so roughly 64 times that of Ireland. But that is now! In the days that America was fighting for its independence, the population of Ireland was almost twice as large as that of the U.S.

The first U.S. woman to walk in space was Irish-American

An Irish-American woman from Paterson, New Jersey, was the first to walk in outer space. Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan was a NASA astronaut who served on three missions of the Space Shuttle program.

Kathryn was also the first American woman who ever walked in space. Sullivan is highly recognized and inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.