Irish American Presidents of the United States

The Irish have a lot to be proud of and while this is not a list of Bronx Irish Presidents, it does show the incredible contributions the Irish have made to the American political landscape.

Case in point is that at least 22 of the 44 presidents of the United States claim some Irish ancestry.  While the majority are Scotch-Irish, one, John F. Kennedy was 100% Irish.  In the case of President Clinton, he claims ancestry but there does not seem to be an official documentation of any of his ancestors coming from Ireland.   Just proves the Irish saying:  “there are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were.”

Herewith, are the list of Presidents and their connections to Ireland.  Please note that the number who claim ancestry from County Antrim is eight.Pretty impressive.

Presidents

• Andrew Jackson (Scotch-Irish) 7th President 1829–37.  His parents left County Antrim. 
• James Knox Polk (Scotch-Irish) 11th President, 1845–49. His ancestors emigrated from Coleraine in 1680 and became a powerful political family in North Carolina.
• James Buchanan (Scotch-Irish) 15th President, 1857–61. The Buchanan family were originally from Deroran, near  Omagh, near Tyrone. Their ancestral home still exists. 
• Andrew Johnson (Scotch-Irish & English) 17th President, 1865–69. His grandfather left County Antrim around 1750 and settled in North Carolina. He became President following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
• Ulysses S. Grant (Scotch-Irish, English & Scottish) 18th President, 1869–77. His maternal great-grandfather, John Simpson, come from County Tyrone. He served two terms and actually visited his ancestral homeland in 1878. 
• Chester A. Arthur (Scotch-Irish & English) 21st President, 1881–85. His family left County Antrim in 1815. 
• Grover Cleveland (Scotch-Irish & Irish-English) 22nd and 24th President, 1885–89 and 1893–97. Born in New Jersey, his maternal grandmother emigrated from County Antrim in the 1790s. He is the only president to have served non-consecutive terms. 
• Benjamin Harrison (Scotch-Irish & English) 23rd President, 1889–93.  His mother had Ulster-Scots roots through her two great-grandfathers.
• William McKinley (Scotch-Irish & Irish) 25th President, 1897–1901. McKinley was a descendant of a farmer from County Antrim. He served almost two terms but his second term as president was cut short by an assassin's bullet.
• Theodore Roosevelt (Scotch-Irish, Dutch, Scotch, English & French) 26th President, 1901-09. His mother had Ulster Scots ancestors who emigrated from County Antrim in May 1729.
• William Howard Taft (Scotch-Irish & English) 27th President 1909–13.
• Woodrow Wilson (Scotch-Irish) 28th President, 1913–21. He was the grandson of a printer from County Tyrone. 
• Warren G. Harding (Scotch-Irish & English) 29th President 1921–23.
• Harry S. Truman (Scotch-Irish & German) 33rd President 1945–53.
• John F. Kennedy (Irish) 35th President 1961–63.  Most of the family came from County Wexford. 
• Richard Nixon (Scotch-Irish, English & German) 37th President, 1969–74. The Nixon ancestors left Ulster in the mid-18th century; the Quaker Milhous family ties were with County Antrim, County Kildare and County Cork.
• Jimmy Carter (Scotch-Irish & English) 39th President 1977–1981. The Carter family came from County Antrim.
• Ronald Reagan (Scotch-Irish, Irish, English & Scottish) 40th President 1981–89. He was the great-grandson of Irish migrants from Country Tipperary  who came to America via Canada and England in the 1940s.
• George H. W. Bush (Scotch-Irish, & English) 41st President 1989–93.  The Bush family came from County Wexford, County Down and County Cork, about 1755. 
• Bill Clinton (Scotch-Irish & English) 42nd President 1993–2001.  The Clinton claim of Irish ancestry has not been adequately substantiated.
• George W. Bush (Scotch-Irish, German & English) 43rd President 2001–09.  The Bush family came from County Wexford, County Down and County Cork, about 1755.
• Barack Obama (Kenyan American, African American, Irish American, & English American) 44th President 2009–: his paternal ancestors came to America from Kenya and his maternal ancestors came to America from Country Offaly, Ireland.  His ancestors lived in New England and the South and by the 1800s most were in the Midwest.

So there you have the facts and details of the Irish American United States Presidents.  Another reason to know more about the Irish and their influence in America.  Good information to know and share proudly.