Denis McDonough new Obama Chief of Staff deeply proud of his Irish heritage

Did his Master’s thesis on the Irish peace process and retains close links

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NIALL O'DOWD,

IrishCentral Founders

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Barack Obama's new Chief of Staff, Irish American, Denis McDonough

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“I provide my advice to him in private and I can tell you that there’s a lot of times when I provide advice that he ignores,” McDonough told The Irish Times. “The American people have an expectation that you will keep them safe.

“The president understands and takes that expectation very seriously. What we’re not going to do is stand up and brag about that fact. We do it every day. So we’ll just keep doing it . . . It’s the determined Irishman in me.”
 
A favorite with White House staff, McDonough is well liked among them. He is known for leaving thank-you notes for staffers when they have worked hard on a project. Psaki recalls receiving one such note from him for her work on Obama's hectic first overseas trip as president in 2009 when he traveled to London for the Group of 20 before heading to France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Iraq. He is even-tempered and known within the White House as someone who is not a showboater. Those qualities are highly valued by Obama, a fellow Midwesterner who, dating back to his campaign, has sought to keep drama and ego clashes to a minimum on his team.

Athletic and a former star high school football player, McDonough rode a bicycle to work from his Takoma Park home until his wife forbade him from doing so following an accident, according to Bloomberg. The 6-foot-3 McDonough is known for weighing himself regularly to ensure his weight remains below 200 pounds, according to The Times, which likened him to “a Town & Country cover model.”

McDonough is a devout Catholic. He and his wife have three children. He grew up in a family of 11 children, one of whom became a priest. He once told a reporter that he had given up coffee and candy for Lent, according to The New York Times.
 

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