‘When my great grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with him except two things: a strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty. I am glad to say that all of his great-grandchildren have valued that inheritance.’
(President Kennedy, visiting his ancestral home in Wexford in 1963)
Irish-Americans increased their influence in American politics through the Democratic Party, one of America’s two main political parties. President Kennedy was the first Catholic Irish-American president. Name some of the other Irish-American presidents before and after Kennedy. What province in Ireland can claim the most of these? Why?
Tom Brady
Irish-born and people of Irish descent have contributed to many aspects of life in
other countries, particularly America, Australia and Britain. The early emigrants often suffered discrimination in
these countries – ‘No Irish Need Apply’ – but later generations contributed to politics, music and entertainment, art and literature, the sciences and engineering, and sport.
Investigate the Irish ancestry of one of the people pictured here.
