This is a list of notable Irish Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American-born descendants. -
[edit] Actors [edit] Presidents At least 23 presidents of the United States have some Irish ancestral origins[1], although the extent of this varies. For example, both of Andrew Jackson's parents were Irish born while George W. Bush has a rather distant Irish ancestry. President Kennedy had far stronger Irish origins, which fell much closer in terms of date. Also Ronald Reagan's great grandfather was an Irish Roman Catholic, and his mother had some Scots-Irish ancestry. James K. Polk also had Scots-Irish Ancestry. Barack Obama's maternal grandmother had Irish forebears and it is thought that Bill Clinton might have some distant Irish ancestry. Only Kennedy was raised as a practicing Catholic. - George Washington, 1st President[1]
- Andrew Jackson, 7th President 1829-37[2]
- William Howard Taft, 27th President 1909-13[3]
- Woodrow Wilson, 28th President 1913-21[2]
- John F. Kennedy, 35th President 1961-63[2]
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President 1981-89[2]
- George H. W. Bush, 41st President 1989-93[2]
- Bill Clinton, 42nd President 1993-01[2]
- Jefferson Davis, first and only President of the Confederate States of America.[4][5]
- Michael Flatley, Dancer [26] "The important thing to know about Michael Flatley is that he's Irish-American... His success comes from his ability to join unlikely elements together—Irish and Americans, step dancing and flamenco, pretension and frivolity."
- William Harnett, Painter, Irish immigrant best know for trompe-l'œil renderings of still life.[27] "William Harnett American, born Ireland, 1848(?)-1892"
- Gene Kelly, Dancer, Actor, Singer, Director, Choreographer
- Georgia O'Keeffe, Painter [28] "Of Irish and Hungarian ancestry, Georgia O'Keeffe was born on a farm in Sun Prairie, Wis...."
- Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Sculptor [29] "Augustus Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1848 to an Irish mother and a French father."
- Harrison Ford and Terence Ford, Actors and sons of an Irish American Father and a Jewish mother.
- Carrie Ann Inaba, dancer, actress (Mother of Chinese and Irish Descent)
[edit] Business [edit] Film directors/producers - Walt Disney [37] "his father, Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian, and his mother, Flora Call Disney, who was of German-English descent."
- John Ford, Director, best known for stylish Westerns and the film classic, The Quiet Man.
- Alfred Hitchcock [38] "He was the youngest child of an East End family whose father ran a poulterer's and greengrocer's business and whose mother came of Irish stock. The family was Catholic." [39] "In 1955, he became an American citizen."
- John Huston[6]
- Leo McCarey [40] "Leo McCarey was the first son of Irish-Catholic Thomas McCarey, a well-known boxing promoter, and French-born Leona [Mistrol] McCarey, for whom he is named."
- Michael Moore [41] "Moore, now 49, was raised in a working-class Irish-American family."
- John Sayles (1950 - ) independent film director and writer, frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films[7]
[edit] Gangsters and mobsters [edit] Law enforcement [edit] Literature - Philip Barry-playwright; author of The Philadelphia Story.[9]
- Ted Berrigan-poet, part of the second generation of the New York School; author of The Sonnets.[10]
- John Berryman-poet; one of the founders of the Confessional school of poetry.[11]
- Louise Bogan-poet, translator, and critic; served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1945-1946.[12]
- T. Coraghessan Boyle-novelist and short story writer; awarded the 1988 PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel World's End.
- John Horne Burns-novelist and travel writer; author of The Gallery.
- Bill Bryson-travel writer; awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to literature.
- Jim Carroll-author, poet, and punk musician; author of The Basketball Diaries.
- Neal Cassady-author and poet; provided the basis for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road.
- Raymond Chandler-novelist and short story writer; author of the Philip Marlowe detective series that shaped the modern "private eye" story.
- Mary Coyle Chase-playwright and screenwriter; awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Harvey.
- Kate Chopin-novelist and short story writer; her novel The Awakening (1899) is considered a proto-feminist precursor to American modernism.
- Tom Clancy-novelist; author of many bestselling novels, including The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger.
- Mary Higgins Clark-bestselling author of suspense novels.
- Billy Collins-poet; served two terms as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003.[13]
- Joe Connelly-novelist; author of Bringing Out the Dead.
- Michael Connelly-crime novelist; author of the bestselling Harry Bosch detective series.
- Pat Conroy-novelist and memoirist; author of The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides.
- Robert Creeley-poet and author associated with the Black Mountain poets; awarded a 2000 American Book Award Lifetime Achievement Award.[14]
- Maureen Daly-novelist and short story writer; her novel Seventeenth Summer (1942) is considered the first young adult novel.
- J.P. Donleavy-novelist; author of The Ginger Man, named on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.
- Kirby Doyle-poet and novelist; associated with the New American Poetry movement and "third generation" American modernist poets.
- Alan Dugan-poet; winner of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his volume Poems.[15]
- James T. Farrell-novelist; author of the Studs Lonigan trilogy, named on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald-novelist and short story writer; his novel The Great Gatsby was named on both the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels and the TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005 [45].
- Robert Fitzgerald-poet, critic, and translator; served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1984-1985.
- Thomas Flanagan-novelist and academic; winner of the 1979 National Book Critics Circle Award for The Year of the French.
- Vince Flynn-political thriller novelist; author of bestselling Mitch Rapp series.
- Alice Fulton-poet and short story writer; awarded the 2002 Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for Felt.[16]
- Tess Gallagher-poet, short story writer, essayist, and playwright.[17]
- Lucy Grealy-poet, memoirist, and essayist; author of Autobiography of a Face.
- Pete Hamill-journalist, columnist, novelist, and short story writer.
- George V. Higgins-novelist, columnist, and academic; known for his best-selling crime novels, including The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
- Fanny Howe-poet, novelist, and short-story writer; awarded the 2001 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for Selected Poems.
- Marie Howe-poet; winner of the 1987 Open Competition of the National Poetry Series for The Good Thief.[18]
- Susan Howe-poet and literary critic; awarded American Book Awards in 1981 for The Liberties and 1986 for My Emily Dickinson.[19]
- Brigit Pegeen Kelly-poet; finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for The Orchard.[20]
- Robert Kelly-poet associated with the deep image group; awarded a 1980 American Book Award for In Time.
- William Kennedy-novelist and author, winner of the 1983 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Ironweed and a 1984 American Book Award for O Albany!.
- X. J. Kennedy-poet, translator, anthologist, editor, and children's author.[21]
- Richard Kenney-poet and academic.
- Jean Kerr-author and Tony Award-winning playwright.
- Galway Kinnell-poet; awarded the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and 1983 National Book Award for Poetry for Selected Poems.[22]
- R. A. Lafferty-Hugo- and Nebula-nominated science fiction author.
- Michael Lally-poet and author; awarded a 2000 American Book Award for It's Not Nostalgia: Poetry and Prose.
- James Laughlin-poet and publisher; winner of the 1989 National Book Critics Circle Award Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1992 National Book Awards Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters; namesake of the annual James Laughlin Award administered by the Academy of American Poets.
- Dennis Lehane-novelist, author of A Drink Before the War and Mystic River.
- John Logan-poet and academic; awarded the 1982 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for Only the Dreamer Can Change the Dream.
- William Logan-poet, critic, and scholar; awarded the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism for The Undiscovered Country: Poetry in the Age of Tin.
- Thomas Lynch-poet and essayist; awarded a 1998 American Book Award for The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.
- Michael Patrick MacDonald-memoirist; winner of a 2000 American Book Award for All Souls: A Family Story From Southie.
- Cormac McCarthy-novelist and playwright; author of Blood Meridian and 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winner The Road.
- Frank McCourt-memoirist; winner of the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for Angela's Ashes.
- Alice McDermott-novelist; awarded the 1998 National Book Award and a 1999 American Book Award for Charming Billy.
- Campbell McGrath-poet.
- Thomas McGrath-poet; awarded a 1984 American Book Award for Echoes Inside the Labyrinth and the 1989 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for Selected Poems: 1938-1988.[23]
- Thomas McGuane-novelist, screenwriter, and short story writer; nominated for a National Book Award for Ninety-Two in the Shade.
- Jay McInerney-novelist; author of Bright Lights, Big City.
- James McMichael-poet; awarded the 1999 Arthur Rense Prize.
- Terrence McNally-playwright; winner of six Tony Awards and nominated for the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Perfect Ganesh.
- Maile Meloy-novelist and short story writer; awarded The Paris Review's 2001 Aga Khan Prize for Fiction for her story Aqua Boulevard.
- Margaret Mitchell-novelist; awarded the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Gone With The Wind.
- Helen Curtin Moskey-poet.
- Robert C. O'Brien-journalist and children's author; awarded the 1972 Newbery Medal for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
- Tim O'Brien-novelist and short story writer; prominent author of fiction about the Vietnam War, including The Things They Carried, a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- Edwin O'Connor-novelist, winner of the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Edge of Sadness.
- Flannery O'Connor-novelist and short story writer; notable author in the Southern Gothic style.
- Frank O'Hara-poet, prominent member of the New York School.[24]
- John O'Hara-novelist; author of Appointment in Samarra, named one of the TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005 [46].
- Charles Olson-poet and critic, associated with the second generation American Modernist poets; author of The Maximus Poems.[25]
- Eugene O'Neill-playwright; awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature and four time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
- J.F. Powers-novelist and short story writer; winner of the 1963 National Book Award for Morte d'Urban.
- Anne Rice- horror novelist; author of bestselling Interview With A Vampire series.
- Nora Roberts-romance novelist; first inductee into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.
- Kay Ryan-poet and academic; currents Poet Laureate of the United States.
- Michael Ryan-poet; awarded the 1990 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for God Hunger.[26]
- John Patrick Shanley-playwright and screenwriter; winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Doubt: A Parable.
- Mickey Spillane-crime novelist; author of bestselling Mike Hammer detective novels.
- John Kennedy Toole-novelist; posthumously awarded the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for A Confederacy of Dunces.
- Michael Walsh-novelist and screenwriter; awarded a 2004 American Book Award for And All The Saints.
- Roger Zelazny-fantasy and science fiction author; winner of three Nebula Awards and six Hugo Awards.
[edit] Media/Journalists - Mike Barnicle [47] "In this racial maelstrom, there was one Globe man who was trusted on the gritty streets of South Boston, a young Irish columnist named Mike Barnicle..."
- Jimmy Breslin [48] "His book has been criticized for its intemperate remarks about the Irish and their American great-grandchildren, but if Jimmy Breslin is not qualified to make those judgments... who is?"
- Nellie Bly [49] "Miss Bly was, in fact, the daughter of Irish immigrants."
- Neil Cavuto [50] "Look, I'm half-Italian and half-Irish. I figure I was born with a temper..."
- Phil Donahue [51] "When he and Buchanan squared off on camera to debate the recent Pledge of Allegiance court ruling, they were just another pair of wealthy, middle-aged, white Irish Catholic men pontificating."
- Maureen Dowd [52] "Dowd is assumed by most people to be a Democrat... in reality she was part of this kind of Irish-Catholic mafia that included Chris Matthews and Mike Kelly..."
- Pete Hamill [53] "Born in Brooklyn in 1935, of Irish immigrant parents, Pete Hamill served in the US Navy, attended Mexico City College..."
- Sean Hannity [54] "Hannity, a proclaimed devout Irish Catholic, has blamed liberals for actions taken..."
- Magee Hickey [55]
- Greg Kelly
- Chris Matthews [56] "But Chris Matthews, the Irish-American host of MSNBC's political talk show "Hardball,"..."
- Peggy Noonan (1950 - ) author, political analyst and pundit for the Republican Party[27]
- Nicole O'Brian, supermodel, pageant contestant, and reality television contestant
- Conan O'Brien [57] "O'Brien, the proud Irishman, clad very casually in denims and navy blue shirt..."
- Soledad O'Brien [58] "O'Brien was named to Irish American Magazine's "Top 100 Irish Americans" on two occasions." [59] "Soledad O’Brien brings her unique heritage of Latino, Irish, and African-American cultures..."
- Norah O'Donnell [60] "O’Donnell has also been named to Irish American Magazine’s 2000 “Top 100 Irish Americans” list."
- Bill O'Reilly [61] "He was raised Irish-Catholic in Long Island, NY..."
- John L. O'Sullivan [62] "He was the son of an English woman of aristocratic origins and an Irish-born..."
- Michael O'Looney. New York based reporter and later a business executive with Merril Lynch.
- Regis Philbin [63] "Part of an Irish-American Catholic family, he was the eldest son of Frank and Florence..."
- Dennis Roddy[28]
- Tim Russert (1950 - 2008) journalist, has hosted NBC's Meet the Press from 1991 until his death in 2008.[29]
- Ed Sullivan [64] "As you may recall, Ed Sullivan, whose heritage was Irish ..."
- Elizabeth Vargas [65] "Born in New Jersey of a Puerto Rican father and Irish American mother, and a self-described army brat..."
- John Walsh [66] "I don't know if it comes from being Irish or Catholic or both...."
- Brian Williams
- Howie Carr author, Boston newspaper columnist and New England radio talk-show host has claimed family "two-boater" Irish ancestry (i.e., Ireland-to-Canada, then Canada-to-Maine) on his father's side.
[edit] Military - John Barry - father of the United States Navy [67] "John Barry was born in a modest thatched cottage in 1745 at Ballysampson on Our Lady's Island, which is part of Tacumshin Parish in County Wexford, Ireland..."
- Michael Corcoran - United States Army general [68] "A policeman in Ireland, Michael Corcoran became a symbol of what an Irishman -- and a Fenian -- could make of himself in the New World..."
- James Hickey - leader of Operation Red Dawn [69] "Hickey is the son of working-class Irish immigrants..."
- Stephen W. Kearny United States Army officer, noted for action in the southwest during the Mexican American War [30]
- Andrew Lewis - Continental Army general "LEWIS, Andrew, soldier, born in Donegal, Ireland, about 1720"
- Dennis Hart Mahan - guiding light and head of faculty at West Point for decades prior to the Civil War. Influential author whose published works were the keystone for spreading engineering knowledge throughout the antebellum United States. His Napoleon seminar at West Point informed Civil War strategies, North and South.
- Alfred Thayer Mahan - naval officer and author whose work, including "Sea Power," inspired the creation of the modern United States Navy.
- George Gordon Meade - commanding general of the Army of the Potomac who led the Union forces to victory at Gettysburg in July of 1863
- Thomas Francis Meagher - United States Army general, Fenian [70] "THOMAS Francis Meagher, Irish nationalist. captain in the 69th New York State Militia at 1st Manassas, and Civil War general..."
- Richard Montgomery - Continental Army general [71] "MONTGOMERY, RICHARD (1736-1775), American soldier, was born in Co. Dublin, Ireland, in 1736..."
- Audie Murphy - most decorated combat soldier of World War II [72] "One of the countless young Irish Americans queuing up in front of the recruitment offices was Audie Murphy from Greenville, Texas..."
- Timothy Murphy - marksman, Continental Army [31] "His parents, Irish immigrants, were Thomas and Mary (Lundy) Murphy..."
- Jeremiah O'Brien - captain in Continental Navy [32] "The shamrock centered at the top of the pile alludes to Jeremiah O'Brien's Irish ancestry..."
- John O'Neill - United States Army general, Fenian [33] "General John O'Neill arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1848..."
- John P. O'Neill - high ranking anti-terrorism expert [73]
- Molly Pitcher - Revolutionary War heroine [74] "She survived her husband many years, known of course as Molly McCauly, and the statements so frequently made that Molly Pitcher was a young Irish woman..."
- John Reynolds - general commanding the right wing of the Army of the Potomac who surprised Lee and committed the Union army to battle at Gettysburg in July of 1863. Killed in the front lines while personally rallying troops for counterattacks during the first day of fighting.
- Philip Sheridan - United States Army, General of the Army, Cavalry [75] "John and Mary Minah Sheridan, Philip's parents, came to America in 1830 at the urging of John's uncle, Thomas Gainor, living in Albany, New York. John and Mary were second degree cousins from County Cavan, Ireland."
- John Sullivan - Continental Army general [76] "General John Sullivan: His Irish Family Background"
[edit] Musicians [edit] Politicians [edit] Science [edit] Sports [edit] Others - Billy the Kid - gunslinger [37] "aka Billy Bonney, from his birth in New York's Irish slums..."
- Molly Brown the Unsinkable Molly Brown was Born Molly Tobin (Irish born father) [38]
- Eileen Collins - first female commander of a Space Shuttle [39] "The Irish American contribution to space exploration has continued in recent years with astronauts Kathryn Sullivan and Eileen Collins..."
- John Dunlap - printer, printed the first copies of the Declaration of Independence [40] "John Dunlap, born in Ireland in 1747..."
- Ellen Ewing Sherman - step sister and wife of William Tecumseh Sherman. Because they would have needed to buy a slave to help with the children, Mrs. Sherman refused to accompany her husband to command at the Louisiana military academy, which later became LSU. During the Civil War, she and their children took up residence at Notre Dame University, with which her family was closely affiliated.
- David Steele Presbyterian Minister
- John Quinlan (wrestler) Pro Wrestler
- Ann Glover - hanged as a witch in Boston [41] "A native of Ireland, she had been sold as a slave in Barbados..."
- Dan Harrington - world poker champion [42] "Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts of Irish descent..."
- James Healy - Bishop of Portland, America's first African-American bishop, born a slave according to the laws of Georgia to an Irish immigrant and his beloved African wife. First graduate and valedictorian of Holy Cross College in Massachusetts.
- Patrick Healy - President of Georgetown University, considered its second founder. Brother of James Healy. First African-American president of an American university. Priest in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).
- Michael Healy - Captain of the Revenue Cutter Bear, defender of Alaska's native Americans, inspiration for Jack London's "The Sea Wolf," prominent figure in James Michener's "Alaska". Younger brother of James and Patrick Healy.
- James Hoban - Architect of the White House in Washington, DC [43] "Hoban studied at the Dublin Society School in Dublin before emigrating to the United States of America..."
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - former First Lady, her mother, Janet Lee Bouvier, is of mostly Irish decent
- Patrick Sebastian - Florida musician and rugby player on Bay Area Krewe.
- Mary Jemison - Frontiers Woman [44]"Mary Jemison was born onboard the ship Planter on the way from Ireland to America.
- Mark Calaway - Pro wrestler with the WWE, known as the Undertaker.
- Christa McAuliffe, a teacher-astronaut who was killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (also has Lebanese ancestry).
- John L. Sullivan - Last bare-knuckle boxing heavyweight champion of the world & first gloved heavyweight champion of the world. Also, the first American athlete to become a national celebrity and to earn over $1 million.
- Helen Galvin- swimmer and model, known for walking in high-fashion shows and her quest for Olympic gold at the 2012 Olympics
- Kathleen Willey - a major figure in the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky scandals involving President Bill Clinton, her mother is of Irish decent.
- Coco Rocha, is a Canadian model of Irish, Welsh, and Russian descent.
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