The Irish antecedants of the Bush dynasty have always been a bit vague, if indeed they exist at all. While there was much talk of Colin Powell's Irish ancestry via slave owners in Jamaica, no Irish link could be found to the Bushs.
But last week, as the Irish were filing into the White House to see Bertie Ahern hand George W. the bowl of shamrock, some enthusiastic members of the Irish American Republicans distributed a family tree compiled by Brian G. Andersson of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services.
The tree shows that Bush has three sets of Irish ancestors through his paternal grandmother Dorothy Walker: Samuel Holliday, born Rathfriland, Co Down, circa 1710; William Patton, born Ireland circa 1728 and William Shannon, born Co Cork, circa 1725.
The spread of these forebears, North and South, will be very convenient for a future visit by the new president, not only geographically but politically too. Further research may even locate the homestead of the Pattons somewhere in between Co Cork and Co Down.