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American Football and Ireland

With such strong ties between the USA and Ireland, it's no surprise to learn how many famous football icons have Irish ancestry. There are also links to the two teams - Nebraska and Illinois.

Here are just a few:

Tom Brady

New England Patriots’ quarter back, Tom Brady, has Irish roots which reach back to the potato famine. His great-great-grandfather hails from Cavan and his great-great-grandmother was from Cork. In an interview, Brady said “My father is 100 percent Irish. We took a trip over there together… I am very proud of my Irish roots.”

Neil O’Donoghue

O’Donoghue emigrated originally on a soccer scholarship but transferred to Auburn and began kicking for their football team, where he set a record for their longest field goal. He is best remembered for missing three field goal attempts against the New York Giants when playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, resulting in a 20-20 tie. Despite this, O‘Donoghue still managed to set the long-standing Cardinals record for most points in a season with 117.

Constantine Scollen - Nebraska

Constantine Scollen preached to the indigenous peoples of North America in the 19th century. He lived among the Blackfoot, Cree and Métis peoples and recorded their languages. Originally from Fermanagh, Scollen travelled to North America to preach on the Canadian Prairies and in Montana. He also worked as a missionary in what is now North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas. As well as speaking Irish and English, Scollen was fluent in Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and German. Living among the First Nations people for thirty years, he also learned the languages of Cree, Blackfoot, Peigan, Stoney, Ojibwe, Sarcee and Arapaho. Scollen wrote dictionaries and grammars to record the indigenous languages of the Canadian Prairies. In this original notebook, Scollen created what was possibly the first written form of the Arapaho language and alphabet.

Martin Walsh - Nebraska

Martin Walsh, an Irish immigrant to Clinton MA, writes two letters to his family from his new farm in Dublin (later Primrose) Nebraska, including a farewell poem after he breaks his leg, to his Irish friends and family in Clinton and in Ireland! The first letter details Walsh's May 18, 1884 arrival in Dublin, Boone County, Nebraska, penned, 2 pages. The second, 8 pages in pencil from a hospital in Spaulding June 15, 1884 or 1887, expresses his unfortunate condition and includes a lengthy poem about Ireland and Clinton MA and expresses hope the recipient won't share his fate with his Irish countrymen. A neat glimpse into early Nebraska history. Come read his letters for yourself in out Hunger, Work, and Community gallery!

Michael Flatley - Illinois

Flatley was born in Chicago, IL, he is an Irish stepdancer, choreographer and musician. He has become internationally known for his performance in Irish dance shows such as Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. In 1998 he broke his own world record by tapping at a speed of 35 taps per second. 

Catherine O’Leary - Illinois

O'Leary was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois who became famous when it was alleged that an accident involving her cow started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The incident ruined her good name and spawned a folk song that would last for decades. Catherine was exonerated in 1997.

Mary Harris Jones - Illinois

Mary Harris Jones joined the struggle for workers’ rights in middle-age. By the time she’d reached her 50s she had achieved fame as a fiery activist, calling on men, women and children to demand better conditions. In her 80s she was jailed for leading strikes. It began with the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Before the fire, Jones had lost her husband and small children to yellow fever. After the fire, she lost her belongings, home and livelihood as well. She turned instead to the workers’ union “The Knights of Labor”.

Jones travelled across the USA for the unions, becoming known for her speeches and her slogan: ‘Join the union, boys’. During a mine workers’ strike millions of workers called her `Mother Jones’. She played the part by wearing an old-fashioned dress and claiming to be older than she was. Jones’ role in campaigns and strikes saw her banished from towns and jailed in many states, but she took her fight to the very top, leading a march right up to the door of the President’s house. In 1905, she co-founded `Industrial Workers of the World’ which is active to this day.