An Irish American Family Tale

There are more than 3,000 miles between Dublin and New York, but the strands of DNA between Ireland and the United States are so closely entwined that we're as close as only family can be. It's 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Just like a family gathering, here in Ireland, we'll be celebrating this historic moment with everyone in America. For centuries, people have crossed the Atlantic, carrying with them ideas, traditions, music, and a fierce belief in liberty. Scots-Irish settlers helped shape early colonial life; men of Irish heritage signed the Declaration of Independence; Charles Thomson from County Londonderry designed the Great Seal; and Cork-born Stephen Moylan gave the new nation its name, the "United States of America." Those connections weren't just political they were deeply human.