From the Ulster settlers of the eighteenth century to modern leaders with roots throughout the island, many U.S. presidents trace their ancestry to Ireland. These ancestral connection to the presidency mirrors the broader arc of emigration itself—families who left their homeland for greater opportunity and freedom, bringing with them traditions that became woven into the American character.
Joe Heenan of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St Patrick in Philadelphia has shared the chart below, highlighting the depth of the presidents’ Ireland links.
I. First-Generation Presidents
(Parents Born in Ireland)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson | Parents Andrew & Elizabeth Jackson | County Antrim | Both parents emigrated before his birth; Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. |
| James Buchanan | Father James Buchanan Sr. | County Donegal | Emigrated c.1783; Buchanan identified strongly with his Ulster heritage. |
| Chester A. Arthur | Father Rev. William Arthur | County Antrim | Baptist minister who settled in Vermont. |
These first-generation American-born presidents grew up in households steeped in the immigrant experience. Their families were part of the early, strongly Ulster Presbyterian, migration that helped shape frontier America and the political culture of the new republic.
II. Second-Generation Presidents
(Grandparents Born in Ireland)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodrow Wilson | Grandfather James Wilson | County Tyrone | Presbyterian minister’s family from Ulster. |
Woodrow Wilson’s Ulster roots connected him to the Presbyterian reform tradition that influenced much of early American education and civic life.
III. Third-Generation Presidents
(Great-Grandparents Born in Ireland)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John F. Kennedy | Patrick Kennedy, Bridget Murphy, Thomas & Mary Fitzgerald | Counties Wexford & Limerick | Strong Irish Catholic heritage; visited Ireland in 1963. |
| Ronald Reagan | Michael Regan | County Tipperary | Great-grandfather emigrated to Illinois in 1857. |
| James K. Polk | Pollok family | County Donegal | Ulster Presbyterian ancestry, early Carolina settlers. |
| William McKinley | McKinley family | Counties Antrim & Down | Scotch-Irish line settled in Pennsylvania. |
| Joe Biden | Owen Finnegan & Jean Boyle (Louth); Patrick Blewitt & Catherine Scanlon (Mayo) | Counties Louth & Mayo | Deep Irish ancestry on both sides of family. |
This generation produced several presidents whose Irishness became a point of pride and political identity. Several of these made emotional visits to their family homelands – a subject we’ll be exploring in articles to come.
IV. Fourth-Generation Presidents
(Great-Great-Grandparents Born in Ireland)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ulysses S. Grant | Simpson family | County Tyrone | Maternal Scotch-Irish line. |
| Richard Nixon | Milhous family | County Antrim | Quaker Scotch-Irish immigrants pre-1750. |
While more distant, these Ulster lines reflect the generations of settlement that laid the foundation for much of America’s civic leadership in the nineteenth century.
V. Fifth-Generation Presidents
(Great-Great-Great-Grandparents Born in Ireland)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama | Falmouth Kearney | County Offaly | Maternal line; visited ancestral village Moneygall in 2011. |
| Jimmy Carter | Various Ulster ancestors | Ulster region | Distant but verifiable Scotch-Irish ancestry. |
Irish and Ulster heritage remains part of the presidential story—from the Scotch-Irish descent of rural Georgians like Carter to Obama’s maternal roots in County Offaly.
VI. …And Beyond
(Distant Irish or Ulster Ancestry)
| President | Irish Ancestor(s) | County / Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson | Randolph line | Ulster (disputed) | Possible Scotch-Irish connection. |
| James Monroe | Monroe line | County Derry (uncertain) | Distant Ulster ancestry. |
| John Quincy Adams | Smith line | Ulster settlers | Maternal Scotch-Irish ancestry. |
These early presidents have a fainter line of ancestry—these families arrived long before the Revolution and the evidence is fainter, but they are still worth noting.
Ireland’s Lasting Legacy in the White House
From the Scotch-Irish frontiersmen of the 1700s to the descendants of famine-era emigrants, Ireland’s influence on the American presidency remains profound. And with tens of millions of Irish descendants living in the US, it’s likely there are many Irish-rooted presidents still to come.
We’ll dive deeper into the stories of the Irish roots of the American presidents as we celebrate IrishAmerica250!
IrishAmerica250.org 