Most American presidents have Irish heritage. It's foundational to our history. | Opinion
The modern traditions of St. Patrick's Day giftings at the White House began in 1952 when the Irish ambassador to the United States sent a box of shamrocks to President Harry Truman.
When the Taoiseach – Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin – presented President Donald Trump with a crystal bowl of shamrocks last week in the White House East Room in advance of St. Patrick’s Day, the men were extending a decades-old tradition symbolizing a centuries-old bond between Ireland and the United States.
St. Patrick’s Day, one of the most spirited holidays celebrated in the United States, is observed not just in American homes, neighborhood pubs and community parades across America but at the White House, too.
The connections between our nations – and between our leaders – run deep. Remarkably, more than half of U.S. presidents – 23 of 45 men – boast Irish ancestors, from the seventh president, Andrew Jackson, through Joe Biden.
And that is not counting George Washington, who contemporaries tried to make an honorary Irishman just for having attended a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Or counting first ladies with Irish ties, like Richard Nixon’s wife who embraced the name “Pat” – her father had called her a “St. Patrick’s babe in the morning” – after her birth just before midnight on a March 16.
JFK paid a visit to Ireland – and made history
Even the White House building itself, our country’s most recognizable symbol of cultural diplomacy and hospitality, has Irish roots: Its iconic look was conceived by Irish-born architect James Hoban, who won a competition in 1792 to design the new nation’s Executive Mansion. Hoban’s vision was inspired by Ireland’s Leinster House – which in the 20th century became Ireland’s Parliament building.
Ireland, in turn, has been a prized destination for American presidents. Ulysses S. Grant, who had recent Irish ancestry on his maternal side, became the first U.S. president to visit there, though in 1879, after he left office.
The draw to visit Ireland was personal and political in the summer of 1963 when John F. Kennedy made history as the first sitting American president to visit Ireland. A proud Irish Catholic, Kennedy made the journey for official and family connections. His rousing presence and interactions during this visit worked magic there and in the United States. Over four days, he visited ancestral sites, greeted relatives, spent time with the Irish people and became the first U.S. president to speak at the Irish parliament, the Oireachtas Éireann.
“Two nations, divided by distance … united by history,” JFK said in his speech, “(with) enduring links which have bound the Irish and the Americans since the earliest days.”
He called his visit to Ireland the happiest days of his life. It is said his trip contributed to the rise of Ireland’s national strength and as a global ally.
I had the honor and pleasure of visiting the president’s ancestral home with the Kennedy Foundation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his visit. The significance of President Kennedy’s trip is present in our nations' bond to this day.
Ronald Reagan gets back to his family's heritage in Ireland
Ronald Reagan, whose great-grandfather came from Ballyporeen in County Tipperary, was the second American president to speak at Oireachtas Éireann, and like Kennedy, his visit was also significant on multiple levels.
“One Irishman told me he thought I would fit in,” Reagan said as he spoke of his affection for Ireland, " 'Mr. President,' he said (he was told on the trip), you love a good story, you love horses, you love politics − the accent we can work on.' "
But the president also touched the official side: “The American people know how profoundly Ireland has affected our national heritage and our growth into a world power.”
Bill Clinton, whose mother claimed family from County Fermanagh, became the first U.S. president to visit Northern Ireland, in a show of support for peace for all of Ireland and the United Kingdom. He was even inducted into the Irish American Hall of Fame in 2011 for his work there.
American presidents have a long tradition celebrating St. Patrick's Day
The modern traditions of St. Patrick’s Day giftings at the White House began in 1952 when the Irish ambassador to the United States sent a box of shamrocks to President Harry Truman (whose ancestors hailed from Ireland’s Donegal and Tyrone counties). Ireland’s famed Waterford Crystal company elevated the gift to a cut glass bowl starting in the Eisenhower years, often presented in person as just last week from the Taoiseach to President Trump.
But White House honors for St. Patrick’s run the full gamut:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt – who married Eleanor on St. Patrick’s Day 1905 – managed a few moments away to celebrate his anniversary in the Oval Office in 1941. The first lady brought shamrocks.
- Dwight Eisenhower rode up Pennsylvania Avenue in 1959 with Irish President Sean O’Kelly under a banner that read in Gaelic, “One Hundred Thousand Welcomes.”
- President Reagan made St. Patrick’s a joyful day-long celebration at the White House and on Capitol Hill, even interrupting a Cabinet Room luncheon in 1986.
- Barack Obama turned the White House fountains green and downed a pint at a nearby pub with an Irish cousin. And even the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t dampen presidential enthusiasm for Irish-American bonds; in 2021, President Biden had the whole White House facade lit in Emerald Isle green for the holiday.
However our commanders in chief – and anyone – partake in the fun and celebrations, St. Patrick's Day remains a time to reflect on the traditions that continue to be part of the history of the Executive Mansion, of American presidents and the relationship between these two countries.
Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Stewart D. McLaurin is president of the White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961, and is director of The People’s House: A White House Experience multimedia educational center and museum.