The Irish ancestry that helped shape US history

Kennedy contends Irish heritage is no longer an important factor in presidential elections because of the disparate, unpredictable views of the diaspora.

“There is no such thing as an Irish voting block in America, there hasn’t been since, the 1950s, 1960s, because the Irish became too fully assimilated.”

He pointed out Biden was proud of his immigrant ancestry and would “play that Irish liberal card” but added that current attitudes to US immigration vary widely.

“Some Americans, when I interview them, they will very readily say: ‘We were immigrants once, we weren’t treated well in this country – that makes me very empathetic toward the current immigrants,” he explained.

“You’ll talk to other Irish Americans and they will say: ‘Our ancestors, they came here, they were immigrants but they came the right way, not like these folks today’.”

The professor believes there is a growing conservative minority within the community which is “more visible and more vocal”.

“I don’t think Irish America is disappearing – it is transforming,” he said.