Photos: Obama's Irish roots
Politics

Photos: Obama's Irish roots

Updated 2025 GMT (0425 HKT) June 18, 2013
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Michelle Obama, accompanied by her two daughters, Sasha, left, and Malia, right, visits Glendalough with tour guide George McClafferty in the Wicklow Mountains National Park in Ireland on Tuesday, June 18. The Obama girls are making stops around the country to learn about their Irish heritage while the president attends the G8 Summit. ARTUR WIDAK/AFP/Getty Images
Genealogists at Ancestry.com first shed light on Barack Obama's Irish roots when he was campaigning for the presidency. They traced his Irish ancestry back to Falmouth Kearney, the president's great-great-great-grandfather on his mother's side, who immigrated from the Irish village of Moneygall to Ohio in 1850. Obama hasn't hesitated to embrace his Irish roots. Pictured, he enjoys a glass of Guinness in Moneygall alongside first lady Michelle Obama in May 2011. Irish Government - Pool/Getty Images
British Prime Minister David Cameron shakes hands with Obama as they arrive for the start of the G8 Summit near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on June 17, 2013. BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, from left, Obama and House Speaker John Boehner leave the U.S. Capitol after the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon on March 19. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Kenny presents a bowl of shamrocks to Obama during a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House in March. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Obama drinks a pint of Guinness with Henry Healy, an ancestral cousin from Moneygall, Ireland, at The Dubliner pub in Washington on March 17, 2012. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
A T-shirt picturing Obama is displayed for sale in May 2011 in Dublin, Ireland, ahead of his visit. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Paddy Power bookmakers in Dublin changes its name for Obama's visit in May 2011. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Children wave U.S. flags as they wait for Obama at a rally at College Green in Dublin on May 23, 2011. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images
Obama speaks at an Irish celebration in Dublin on May 23, 2011. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Obama greets a young fan during a rally in Dublin on May 23, 2011. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Fans in Dublin wait for Obama on May 23, 2011. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images
Obama walks flanked by Irish President Mary McAleese, right, and her husband, Martin McAleese, as they arrive at the President's Residence to plant a tree in Dublin on May 23, 2011. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Obama poses for pictures with an Irish hurling stick, as Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny looks on in Dublin on May 23, 2011. MAXWELLS/AFP/Getty Images
The Obamas greet fans in Moneygall village in rural County Offaly, Ireland, on May 23, 2011. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images
Obama draws a pint at Ollie Hayes' Pub on May 23, 2011, in Moneygall. Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images
Obama holds a bowl of shamrocks presented to him by Prime Minister Brian Cowen of Ireland during a St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House on May 17, 2011. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images