Irish-American Presidents

Tuesday is election day in the United States. Americans will go to the polls to cast votes for federal and state offices in all 50 states. Many of the candidates on the ballots will have Irish roots, in fact the United States has a rich history of electing Irish-Americans to high office. One high office in particular Irish-Americans have achieved numerous times is the Presidency itself. From Ulysses S Grant to Barack Obama and plenty of others in between, the diaspora has punched well above its weight. Below is a picture gallery of some US Presidents who's ancestors hailed from the emerald isle.

If Joe Biden were to win tomorrow he would join the list, he can trace his ancestors to Ballina, County Mayo.

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th US President, 1869–1877: His maternal great-grandfather was born in County Tyrone. The victorious Civil War commander who served two terms as President visited his ancestral homeland in 1878.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States from 1961–1963. JFK hailed from a large clan in County Wexford. He visited Ireland in 1963, just a few months before his death. Pictured above is JFK in his motorcade during his trip.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th US President from 1981–1989: He was the great-grandson of Irish migrants from Ballyporeen, County Tipperary, who came to America in the 1840s. Above Reagan enjoys a Guinness in Ballyporeen in 1984.

Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States does not have Irish ancestry but has long been a friend to Ireland and Sinn Féin. Here is the President greeting Gerry Adams on the Falls Road in Belfast, 1995.

George W Bush, the 43rd US President from 2001 to 2009 has ancestors from both the South and the North of Ireland. Here he is pictured with Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness in Belfast in 2008.

Barack Obama was the 44th US President from2009-2017. His mother's ancestors hailed from Moneygall, County Offaly. Here he is enjoying a Guinness in Moneygall, 2011.