2024-2025 Spring SS Names

Gerry Adams

Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin

Jane Addams

Co-founded the Hull House in Chicago

Bertie Ahern

led Fianna Fáil party

Tony Blair

played a role in Northern Ireland peace processes

Christopher Augustine Buckley

established a centralized network in San Fransisco

Daniel Cohalan

senior member of the New York based Irish-American Clan na Gael, played a significant role in the run-up to the 1916 Rising

James Curley

Mayor of Boston; irish’ democratic politician

Richard Daley

Mayor of Chicago, ties to Kennedys

Eamon de Valera

a leader in the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence, and the subsequent Irish Civil War. He played a key role in drafting the Irish Constitution and served as the head of state and head of government for several periods. 

John Devoy

Leader of Clan na Gael

Michael Doheny

Irish writer, lawyer, member of the Young Ireland movement, and co-founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood

John Doherty

Irish trade unionist, radical and factory reformer who devoted his life to political and social reform

Charles Gavan Duffy

founded the Nation (1842), a weekly journal of Irish nationalist opinion

Michael Flannery

Irish military officer and founder of the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID), an Irish American membership organization that supported the Provisional IRA during the Troubles

Patrick Ford

known for his contributions as a journalist and land reformer. He was the founder of the Irish World, a newspaper that became influential in shaping American opinion on Ireland, particularly its fight for independence. Ford's newspaper was a major platform for Irish nationalist sentiments and critiques of British rule, making him a prominent voice for Irish-American activism. 

Richard Haass

He succeeded George J. Mitchell as the United States special envoy for Northern Ireland to help the peace process in Northern Ireland

George Harrison

was a primary gun runner for the Irish Republican Army and Provisional Irish Republican Army from the 1950s until 1981.

John Philip Holland

Irish engineer and inventor best known for his pioneering work in submarine design

Ned Kelly

became a folk hero and a symbol of resistance against the oppressive colonial establishment in Australia.In his Jerilderie Letter, he wrote about his perceived mistreatment of the Irish and expressed resentment towards the British colonial power. an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout with the police.

Honest John Kelly

a prominent figure in Irish-American history, known as the "boss" of Tammany Hall, a powerful political organization in New York City, according to Wikipedia. He served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1855 to 1858, and his nickname was more ironic than literal. While he was primarily associated with New York politics, his influence and the Tammany Hall machine played a significant role in shaping the Irish-American experience in the United States during the mid-19th century. 

John F. Kennedy

visited Ireland in 1963 and expressed pride in his Irish heritage, stating, "This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection," First catholic president

Edward Kennedy

his first speech about The Troubles in Northern Ireland: he said that "Ulster is becoming Britain's Vietnam", advocating for the withdrawal of British troops, called for a united Ireland, and declared that Ulster Unionists who could not accept this "should be given a decent opportunity to go back to Britain" (a position he backed away from within a few years).

Joseph Kennedy

he prominent patriarch of the Kennedy family, had a significant influence on American politics and Irish history. He was the first American Ambassador to the United Kingdom, a position he held from 1938 to 1940, during the tumultuous period of the early years of World War II. His family, with roots in County Wexford, Ireland, was deeply connected to the Irish Catholic community and the Democratic Party in America. 

Fiorello La Guardia

An unorthodox Republican, he also ran as the nominee of the American Labor Party, a union-dominated anti-Tammany left wing group that supported Roosevelt for president beginning in 1936.

Peter Lalor

was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician, who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.

Henry Cabot Lodge

He was a vocal advocate for restricting immigration, particularly from Southern and Eastern Europe, fearing their assimilation and potential impact on the nation. Lodge's views, while reflecting prevailing nativist sentiments of the time, often framed immigrants from these regions as less desirable than those from countries with "Teutonic" roots, as seen in his writings about Italian immigration. Prevented US from joining League of Nations.

Joseph McGarrity

helped sponsor several Irish Race Conventions and founded and ran a newspaper called The Irish Press from 1918–22 that supported the War of Independence in Ireland. He was the founder of the Philadelphia chapter of Clan Na Gael.

Thomas D’Arcy McGee

He was born in Ireland, became involved in Young Ireland, a nationalist movement advocating for Irish independence, and later played a key role in the Canadian Confederation movement. His Irish history includes his participation in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, leading him to flee to the United States. He later became a Father of Canadian Confederation and was assassinated in 1868. 

Thomas Francis Meagher

known for his revolutionary activism, his time in the American Civil War, and his later role as a public servant. He was a key member of the Young Ireland movement and played a significant role in the 1848 Irish rebellion, for which he was exiled to Tasmania. After escaping to the United States, he rose to prominence as an orator and editor of the Irish News. He then served with distinction in the Union Army during the Civil War, leading the famous Irish Brigade, before eventually becoming the acting governor of Montana Territory. 

Daniel O’Connell

hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Ireland, down to the poorest class of tenant farmers, secured the final instalment of Catholic emancipation in 1829 and allowed him to take a seat in the United Kingdom Parliament to which he had been twice elected.

John O’Mahony

was the founder of the American branch of the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist secret society active in Britain and the United States during the mid-19th century.

Tip O’Neil

was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-longest tenure in history and the longest uninterrupted tenure. He represented northern Boston in the House from 1953 to 1987. associated with basically every irish democrat and others: JFK, Al Smith, FDR, etc.

John O’Neil

particularly associated with the Fenian movement and the Fenian raids on Canada in the 19th century. He was a leader and organizer within the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the Fenian organization, and his actions and beliefs contributed significantly to Irish nationalist efforts. 

Charles Stewart Parnell

leading the Irish Parliamentary Party and advocating for Irish Home Rule within the British Parliament. His leadership and tactics, including the use of parliamentary obstruction, significantly impacted Irish politics and the relationship between Ireland and Britain. 

George Washington Plunkitt

Democratic Senator aiding constituents in New York

John Redmond

Leader of the Parnellites

insisted on creating his own fundraising body known as the American branch of the United Irish League

Mitchell Reiss

As a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, he worked closely with the British and Irish governments to persuade the political parties representing Northern Ireland's two “traditions” to finally end the “Troubles” and restore local government.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Invented the term hyphenated Americans

Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa

as a prominent Fenian leader and Irish republican activist. He was born in Rosscarbery, County Cork, and dedicated his life to fighting for an independent Irish Republic. He was involved in various republican organizations, including the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), and played a key role in the Fenian dynamite campaign. 

James Shields

He served as a US Senator, a judge on the Illinois Supreme Court, and a brigadier general in both the Mexican War and the American Civil War. His life demonstrates the impact of Irish immigrants on American society and the military. 

Al Smith

associated with Tammany and was govenor of New York. ran against Herbert Hoover for president in 1928 and lost horribly.

Alexander Sullivan

an Irish Nationalist politician, barrister, and journalist from Bantry, County Cork.

William ‘Boss’ Tweed

Leader of Tammany Hall, known for corruption

Peter Welsh

Color Sergeant of the 28th Massachusetts Regiment has become one of the best known members of the Irish Brigade. The publication of his Civil War letters in 1986, under the title Irish Green and Union Blue, revealed the picture of a man devoted to the cause of Union

Woodrow Wilson

American president during World War I

Blamed for the failure of the Paris Peace Conference to meet Irish Nationalists’ expectations

Frank Smith

Irish born Canadian Senator. Canadian businessman. Reflected on Irish allegiance to the British Empire

Bill ‘Studs’ Lonigan

Son of Irish parents in pre-First World War Chicago

who became a prominent figure in local politics and organized crime.

James Liston

the assistant bishop of Auckland who was prosecuted in 1922 by the government because of a speech

John ‘Honey Fitz’ Fitzgerald

Boston leader imitating Tammany’s approach

George Maguire

First Irish born mayor of St. Louis. 1842

Frank McCoppin

First Irish born mayor of San Fransisco, 1867.

William Grace

first Irish born mayor of New York, 1880.

Hugh O’Brien

First Irish born mayor of Boston, 1884