Ten patriotic facts about the Irish in America

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8. Ireland’s population was twice as big as America’s during the Revolutionary War

Today, Ireland is a tiny country – both in size (84,421 sq. km) and in population (5,915,267). New York City alone has over 8 million people – more than 2 million more than the entire island of Ireland. As of 2000, the population of the U.S. is about 60 times that of Ireland.

But believe it or not, at the time when America gained its independence, Ireland’s population was nearly twice as large as that of the U.S., and stayed that way through 1800.

9. An Irishman is the “father” of the Navy

John Barry, a Tacumshane, County Wexford native, is known as “The Father of the American Navy.”

Barry was appointed a Captain in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775. He and his crew fought and won the final naval battle of the American Revolution off the coast of Cape Canaveral on March 10, 1783.

10. An Irish-American was the first woman from the U.S. to walk in space

Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan, an Irish-American from Paterson, New Jersey, is a former NASA astronaut. She is also the first American woman to ever walk in space.

Sullivan was a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, and is a member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

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