Monday, November 23, 2009

Opinion

John Aloysius Farrell

Barack Obama's Irish Heritage

October 30, 2008 02:44 PM ET | John Aloysius Farrell | Permanent Link | Print

OK, this is terribly self-indulgent, even for someone named Aloysius.

And admittedly tenuous, even for a people known for stretching ancestral relationships to extremes.

But it turns out that Barack Obama...is Irish.

Saints be praised! Who knew?

On his mother's side, don't you know. (Thanks to the lovely Irish-American writer Caledonia Kearns for the tip.)

Now, everybody, sing along! From the ol' Blarney Stone to the green hills of Tara... There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama....

Tags: Ireland | presidential election 2008 | Barack Obama

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Reader Comments

Barrack Obama

I was wondering if we could paint the White house green for St. Patrick's day and also I was wondering if you wouldn't mind having a pint of Guinness with me well thank you and Erin Go Bragh.

Irish Obama

Obama is wonderful and discovering he is Irish is just icing on the cake! The song "No one's as Irish as Barack Obama is so fun!

Kathleen

Obama Irish

R.L. Schaefer of CA that was an incredibly racist statement against the Irish race. I hope you burn in hell.

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John Aloysius Farrell is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report. An award-winning Washington reporter, he has written for The Boston Globe and The Denver Post and is the author of Tip O’Neill and the Democratic Century and an upcoming biography of the great American defense attorney, Clarence Darrow.

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