Irish America

Irish America

Presidents

Presidents & First Ladies of Irish Ancestry

By Carl Sferrazza Anthony

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The backgrounds of America's First Families are diverse: Nancy Reagan and Lady Bird Johnson have Spanish forebears; Herbert Hoover was Swiss and Canadian; Mamie Eisenhower was part Swedish while Ike was German; Martin Van Buren and the Roosevelts were Dutch; James Garfield had a royal strain of French; Eliza Johnson's parents were immigrant Scottish sandal-makers; both Calvin … [Read more...] about Presidents & First Ladies of Irish Ancestry

Playing the President

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Brendan Gleeson as Trump on Showtime, and Martin Sheen's West Wing Reunion on HBO Max. Irish actor Brendan Gleeson is widely acknowledged as one of the finest, most versatile performers of his generation. But it’s a safe bet that roughly half of his audience is not going to like him in his latest role. That’s because Gleeson is slated to play the most polarizing political … [Read more...] about Playing the President

President Obama Statue of Presidents

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
December / January 2020

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Visitors to historic downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, are greeted by a series of life-size bronze statues of our nation’s past presidents along the city’s streets and sidewalks. The City of Presidents project began in 2000, to honor the legacy of the American presidency. Each of the sculptures is privately funded, and the pattern of placement is chosen to maintain a coherent … [Read more...] about President Obama Statue of Presidents