Ireland’s links to the United States Presidency

From the White House to the Walls of Derry

Published Saturday, May 21, 2011, 10:56 AM

Updated Saturday, May 21, 2011, 11:40 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

2 Comments

Kilkenny architect James Hoban modeled the White House on the Leinster House (shown).

“Kennedy was the first Irish Catholic president,” adds Scoular, “but at least 12 US presidents have been found to be out of the Scots Irish Presbyterian stock from the northern half of the country. The Scots Irish emigrated in the seventeenth and eighteenth century from what is now Northern Ireland, mainly ending up in the US southern states. They were not in the main fleeing poverty, but seeking new opportunity and religious freedom.”

Scots Irish homesteads

There are three ancestral homesteads in Northern Ireland paying homage to former US presidents Andrew Jackson (the seventh president), Ulysses S Grant (the eighteenth president) and Chester A. Arthur (the twenty-first president). All are restored to their original condition and artefacts from the time portray the historical living conditions, but the Andrew Jackson Cottage in Carrickfergus, County Antrim is particularly tempting. It is the seaside location of the haunting and world-famous Irish ballad ‘Carrickfergus’ (I wish I was in Carrickfergus), has one of the most stunning Norman castles in Ireland, and is a good base for trips to the fabled Giant’s Causeway just a few miles away. The ‘Milhouses’ of Richard Milhous Nixon (the thirty-seventh president) antecedence also hailed from the Carrickfergus area.

The Grant Homestead meanwhile is in Ballygawley, County Tyrone, (Arthur’s is in County Antrim) and close to one of Ireland’s best open-air museums, the Ulster-American Folk Park. This very popular attraction celebrates the deep Irish-American links and brings to life the story of emigration, presidents and otherwise, from Ulster to America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Costumed actors go about the historically authentic cottages, cabins, shops, Conestoga wagons and even an emigrant ship, offering tastes of traditional food and demonstrating Irish and American crafts. The ‘Old World’ and ‘New World’ layout of the park dynamically illustrates emigrant life on both sides of the Atlantic.

Music fans should time their visit to coincide with the park’s annual Appalachian and Bluegrass Festival (September), which has become one of the largest bluegrass events outside of North America.

Presidential suites

Many Americans choose to take grand overnights in the presidential suites of Irish castles and top hotels while tracing the Irish influence on their commanders-in chief and lapping up the top sights and experiences of the Emerald Isle. The presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, County Wicklow, near to Dublin, for instance, is one of the most prestigious in the country, while close to Shannon Airport, Dromoland Castle in County Clare is one of the finest castle accommodations anywhere. Period. Ask Richard Harris, Robin Williams, Angelica Huston, John Travolta and one President George W Bush, just a few of the recent visitor book signatories at this castle.

Last page < 1 2 3 Next page >

Nster.com

E-mail

2 Comments

See all comments

Trealach | May 22, 2011, 02:48 PM EDT

America would still be a Third World country BUT for the Irish. To suggest that it's "a bit of a stretch" to say that 22 Presidents had Irish roots shows a complete lack of interest or knowledge in Irish History. The following can trace their roots back to Ireland, some are 3rd generation, some are 2nd generation - but ALL are Irish. George Washington (Co. Cork) - James Madison (Co. Clare) - Andrew Jackson (Co. Antrim) - James Polk (Co. Donegal) - James Buchanan - (Co. Tyrone) - Andrew Johnson (Co. Antrim) - Ulysses S. Grant (Co. Tyrone) - Chester Arthur (Co. Antrim) - Grover Cleveland (Co. Antrim) - Benjamin Harrison (Co. Down) - William McKinley (Co. Antrim) - Theodore Roosevelt (Co. Donegal) - Woodrow Wilson (Co. Tipperary) - John F. Kennedy (Co. Wexford) - Richard M. Nixon (Co. Antrim) - Gerald Ford (Co. Monaghan) - Jimmy Carter (Co. Derry) - Ronald Reagan (Co. Tipperary) - George H. Bush (Co. Down & Wexford) - William Clinton (Co. Fermanagh) - George W. Bush (Co. Down & Wexford) - Barack Obama (Co. Offaly). If one searches further, one will find that 15 of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence were also Irish, as was the son of Wexford farmer, Commodore John Barry - Founding Father of the US Navy ....... and the list goes on and on and on.

Report abuse

John5319 | May 22, 2011, 12:23 PM EDT

The Irish people have a GREAT heritage, but to link it to half of the U.S. Presidents is a bit of a stretch don't ya think? It is just political commentary trying to "justify" Obama's lineage of ancestry. It's like me saying .... if you eat carrots you'll eventually die from it. There is NO proof that 22 of 24 have Irish Blood. I do, and I know, and I'm darn proud of it. So why muddy the clear, clean, water of an "Irish spring" ??

Report abuse