The Irish American lobby is the loose coalition of groups and individuals who influence United States policy in both foreign and domestic affairs in support of causes related to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and Irish American interests. The main issues that have concerned the Irish American lobby historically have been support for Irish independence, support for the reunification of Ireland, support for

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parochial schools A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

, and winning increased quotas for immigration from Ireland. In areas with large Irish populations, the Irish lobby has worked through the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Formal organizations

The Irish National Caucus (INC) was founded in 1974 by Father Seán Gabriel McManus at a meeting of the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in N ...

(AOH), an

Irish-Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

fraternal organization A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity i ...

. The INC lobbies for the MacBride Principles, a manifesto that demands the cooperation of US companies doing business in Northern Ireland in fighting alleged discrimination and abuses there. The INC formerly operated a now-defunct political action committee named INC Irish PAC. The INC operates a tax-exempt charitable organization, the Irish Peace Foundation, to support "a non-violent solution in Ireland." The Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs was established in 1977; the Ancient Order of Hibernians was instrumental in its establishment. During his tenure in office, Congressman

Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his political career, Biagg ...

was Chairman of the Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs. The Ireland-US Council and the US-Ireland Alliance are organizations which encourage bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) is an organization founded in 2005 by

Niall O'Dowd Niall O'Dowd (born 18 May 1953) in County Tipperary, Ireland, is an Irish American journalist and author living in the United States. He was involved in the negotiations leading to the Northern Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement. He is founder ...

, Ciaran Staunton, and Kelly Fincham that campaigns for reform of United States immigration law and for legalizing an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish immigrants. The ILIR visited the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in 2012 to discuss a proposed Irish E-3 visa which would allow Irish people to work in the United States on a non-immigrant visa for two years, an interval which could be extended.Real hope at last for immigration reform for Irish - Senator Schumer bill to highlight case for work visas
Irish Central, 2011-12-12.

References

External links

Ireland-US Council

US-Ireland Alliance
{{United States lobbying Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States Lobbying in the United States Ireland–United States relations