Irish America

Irish America

President Barack Obama

The Irish Abolitionist: Daniel O’Connell

By Christine Kinealy, Contributor

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Daniel O'Connell is remembered as the Liberator of Irish Catholics, but he also played a significant role in the movement to end slavery. On 23 May 2011, President Obama made an historic visit to the Republic of Ireland. While in Dublin, he addressed the people in College Green. In his opening comments, Obama joked about having returned to his ancestral home “to find the [O’] … [Read more...] about The Irish Abolitionist: Daniel O’Connell

Obama’s Irish Roots: A House in Black, White & Green

By Dennis Bergin, Contributor
February / March 2009

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When Barack Obama enters The White House as the 44th U.S. President, he will find that the Irish and African-American strands of his ancestry have been linked in many other ways throughout the history of the most famous building in the world. On the day he assumes the highest office in the land, Barack Hussein Obama, the descendant of Ohio and Indiana immigrants who came from … [Read more...] about Obama’s Irish Roots: A House in Black, White & Green

A New Dawn in America

By Declan O'Kelly and Bridget English
December / January 2009

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Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, November 4, after he defeated Republican candidate John McCain. On a night of high emotion across the country and around the world, Obama became the first African-American to attain to the office of President. He also joins a long list of commanders-in-chief who claim Irish heritage. So where … [Read more...] about A New Dawn in America

The Conventions

October / November 2008

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Ireland was in the background at this year’s Democratic and Republican National Conventions, but it was there. On the eve of the Democratic Convention in Denver, Senator Barack Obama appeared in Springfield, Illinois, to introduce his candidate for vice president, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Biden has long been an outspoken advocate for Irish-American issues and Obama has … [Read more...] about The Conventions

Chicago and the Irish

By Tom Deignan, Contributor
August / September 2008

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Before he was president, Barack Obama was an ambitious young politician who learned a valuable lesson thanks to the Chicago Irish. The year was 1999. Obama, a state senator, announced he was going to challenge Congressman Bobby L. Rush, a legend in the working-class African-American wards of Chicago’s South Side. Decades earlier, the South Side was heavily Irish. It was the … [Read more...] about Chicago and the Irish