ABSTRACT
The story of the Irish role in American presidential politics begins with the Scots-Irish, a group long overshadowed by the huge numbers of Catholic Irish who arrived later in America. The 2016 presidential election promises to have a meaningful Irish-American presence, as have all its predecessors. Indeed Irish influences already have played a role in this contest. In the spring of 2015, Irish America magazine inducted Hillary Clinton into its Irish America Hall of Fame. This occurred about a month prior to Clinton's expected announcement of her second run for president. The interplay of events in Ireland and domestic US politics has always been present and at times has meaningfully affected presidential decision-making and even electoral contests. Politically, the Irish in America have done far more than endure; they have in fact prevailed, and in doing so have helped steer the most powerful office in the most influential country of modern times.
