Irish American Democrats

Menu

Irish American Democrats PAC​

Democrats Day​

November 3, 2026​

Our mission is to provide support to Democratic candidates who promote peace, justice and prosperity in Ireland.

Richard Neal

Ways & Means

Katherine Clark

House Minority Whip

Brendan Boyle

Budget

Please join us

Celebrate America's 250th Anniversary

Declaration of Independence

With a distinguished service award

Presented by Congressman Richard Neal

President Timothy J. Driscoll

International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers

In recognition of the Historic Contribution of Irish America to Organized Labor

RSVP NOW
Honoree

President Tim Driscoll

Timothy J. Driscoll, President of the InternationalUnion of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC),is a 39-year member of BAC, a bricklayer by trade, and resides in the Washington DC area with his wifeElizabeth and daughter Mairead. Prior to his election to the Office of President in 2020 Driscoll served asSecretary-Treasurer, Executive Vice President,Director of Trade Jurisdiction, and Assistant to thePresident for Government Relations.

Driscoll serves as Co-Chair of the InternationalTrowel Trades Pension Fund, the International HealthFund, and the International Masonry Institute (IMI),the industry development and training arm of the organized masonry industry.

In addition to his duties with BAC, Driscoll alsoserves as a Vice President of the AFL-CIO ExecutiveCouncil, a member of the Governing Board ofPresidents of North America’s Building TradesUnions, serves on the Board of Directors for theAFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, the UnionLabor Life Insurance Company, the Blue-GreenAlliance, Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, Helmets toHard Hats, and serves on the Leadership Council forthe University of Maryland’s Center for GlobalMigration Studies.

Driscoll, a second-generation bricklayer, was born toNick and Jenny Driscoll in Boston, MA in 1963, one of five children. His father Nicholas Driscoll emigrated to the United States from Cork, Ireland in 1949 and his mother Jane (Mullins) Driscoll is a native of Boston, MA.

1996-2006

30th Anniversary of the Irish American Democrats PAC

Since 1996, three Irish American presidents have carried the spirit of the Irish diaspora into the White House — each deepening the bond between America and Ireland.

President Clinton - 1996

Bill Clinton greets a large crowd in Dublin, forging a pivotal link between American leadership and the Irish peace process.

President Obama - 2011

Obama drinks a Guinness in Moneygall, Ireland — his ancestral home.

President Biden - 2023

President Joe Biden's Irish great-great-great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, was a bricklayer in Ballina, County Mayo.

"We people, the Irish Americans, never stop imagining a brighter future. There's always a little Green behind the Red, White and Blue."

- Barack Obama, 2011

Irish America & Labor

Building America Together

BY CHRIS GARLOCK - Labor Heritage

As we gather to celebrate President Driscoll and mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, we recognize the deep and enduring contributions of Irish Americans to the nation's labor movement. Irish immigrants helped build America's canals, railroads, cities and industries.

Despite facing discrimination and dangerous working conditions, they helped forge a powerful tradition of worker solidarity and organizing. That tradition produced influential labor leaders across generations. In the late 19th century, Terence V. Powderly helped build the Knights of Labor into one of the first nationwide worker movements, while Peter J. McGuire helped found the carpenters' union and champion Labor Day. Women organizers like Kate Mullany and Mary Kenny O'Sullivan helped lead early organizing among working women.

Perhaps the most famous Irish-born labor figure was Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, whose tireless organizing among miners and working families made her one of the most legendary figures in labor history.

In the modern era, leaders such as George Meany and John J. Sweeney continued that legacy at the national level, strengthening unions and expanding the voice of working people.

As we celebrate this milestone in American history and honor President Driscoll, we are reminded of MotherJones’s enduring call to action:

"Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living."

— Mother Jones

Ireland's Newest Friend in Congress

Congressman Tim Kennedy

Prior to serving in Congress, Tim represented Western New York in the New York State Senate. As a legislator Tim championed statewide transportation improvements, social justice, gun legislation, women's rights, and immigrant opportunity.

More Irish than the Irish themselves, Tim has been a leader in protecting the Good Friday Agreement and working to foster reconciliation in Northern Ireland. In Buffalo, Tim welcomed Irish Ambassadors from Washington and Irish Lord Mayors from Dublin and Belfast, along with Irish cultural and economic delegations.

He hosted an event at the Library of Congress to celebrate the historic connection between Frederick Douglass and Ireland. Tim sponsored a bill in the New York Senate that established a New York State-Ireland Trade Commission.

He has called upon President Trump to appoint a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland and requested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio release the funds authorized by Congress for the International Fund for Ireland.

Red to Blue — A Special Candidate

John Cavanaugh

Nebraska State Senator John Cavanaugh, J.D., has announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 2nd District in Nebraska — an open seat in a district that went for Obama in 2008, Biden in 2020, and Harris in 2024.

John is 44 years old, married with four children. The Cavanaugh ancestors emigrated from County Wexford, Ireland in the 1850s and settled in Omaha, Nebraska. John is a sixth-generation Nebraskan on his father's side. His great-grandparents on his grandmother's side emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland in 1916, also settling in Omaha.

The Cavanaughs have been successful elected public servants in Nebraska on the local, county, state, and federal levels for 75 years, winning dozens of general elections as Democrats in Nebraska.

Peace & Reconciliation

The International Fund for Ireland

Established in 1986, the International Fund for Ireland continues its work preserving the peace in Northern Ireland. The Fund promotes economic and social advance and encourages contact, dialogue, and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland.

The Fund's mission is to tackle the underlying causes of sectarianism and violence and to build peace, justice, and prosperity. Thanks to the generosity of Ireland's friends in Congress and in the State Department, the Fund is credited with being a model of how to prevent a return to violence following sectarian conflict.

Congressman Brendan Boyle with IFI Chair Shona McCarthy — sustaining the friendship that keeps the peace.

Why We Need a PAC

The Irish American Democratic PAC

BY TED SMYTH

What better time than March to renew our hopes to build a better and stronger United States! And there is no better time than to commit to the Irish American Democrats PAC which provides support to Democratic candidates for office who promote peace, justice and prosperity in Ireland.

This year we are all celebrating America 250 and we Irish are in particular celebrating the contribution of Ireland to building America since the Revolution.

Over the centuries, Irish Americans have built the nation, defended theUnion, led political movements, and organized labor unions to historic victories. Irish Americans established great institutions of higher learning and have shaped American political leadership—from Speakers of the House like John McCormick and Tip O’Neill to numerous U.S.Presidents who proudly claim Irish Heritage. Today, 35 million Irish Americans share the same values of devotion as their forebears to the Constitution, to hard work, honesty and democracy.

We are also celebrating America’s contribution to Ireland. Not only hasAmerica provided a refuge for millions of destitute Irish immigrants but it has been critical to the cause of Irish independence. Over the centuries, Ireland faced the mighty British Empire in seeking its freedom, but this asymmetrical power relationship was balanced by the support of our allies in America.

In recent years, key members of Congress and three American presidents provided critical support for the peace process in Northern Ireland. In the 1970’s, the so-called Four Horsemen, Speaker Tip O’Neill, SenatorsTed Kennedy and Pat Moynihan, and Governor Hugh Carey of NewYork championed equal rights and a role for Dublin in Northern Ireland.

American Presidents have also stepped forward to provide critical support including most recently President Biden who opposed a new border partitioning Ireland following the UK decision to leave the European Union. Three earlier presidents, President Carter, President Reagan, and President Clinton each played a pivotal role in the lead up to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 which brought the violence in Northern Ireland to an end.

This mutual support over recent and past years demonstrates the need for a continued strong Irish voice on the Hill.

We are thus grateful to the Congressional Friends of Ireland who step forward to support the Irish cause, including protecting the Good Friday Agreement. They include many members of Congress such as Reps Richie Neal, Brendan Boyle and Senators Chris Murphy.These members of Congress, supported by the Irish AmericanDemocrats PAC, work to protect and promote the mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship between Ireland and the US. For example, most Americans do not know that Ireland is the 5th largest source of foreign direct investment into the US, with investment by Irish companies valued at $390 billion with more to come this year. Indirectly and directly, Ireland has created 387,000 jobs in the US.

In turn, Ireland welcomes US investment in key industries and of course two-way tourism also employs many people on both sides of the Atlantic.