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The Tribe: The Inside Story of Irish power and influence in US politics
In The Tribe , Caitríona Perry is on familiar ground, returning to Washington and the green strongholds of the United States.
Irish Americans were once considered kingmakers in local and national elections, but generations of assimilation and rising numbers of newer immigrants have diluted that power. Many even argue that the concept of an Irish vote is dead.
But through exclusive interviews with powerful Irish American insiders, including President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump’s former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump’s Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, legendary Boston mayor Ray Flynn and many more, a clear sense that the Irish are still wielding valuable soft power at the highest levels of US politics emerges.
Here, Caitríona Perry gets to the heart of the source and effectiveness of Irish power and influence in America and how it could, or should, evolve in a post-Brexit world, offering a fascinating insight into the inner workings of US politics.
Irish Americans were once considered kingmakers in local and national elections, but generations of assimilation and rising numbers of newer immigrants have diluted that power. Many even argue that the concept of an Irish vote is dead.
But through exclusive interviews with powerful Irish American insiders, including President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump’s former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump’s Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, legendary Boston mayor Ray Flynn and many more, a clear sense that the Irish are still wielding valuable soft power at the highest levels of US politics emerges.
Here, Caitríona Perry gets to the heart of the source and effectiveness of Irish power and influence in America and how it could, or should, evolve in a post-Brexit world, offering a fascinating insight into the inner workings of US politics.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Hardcover
Published October 11, 2019
5 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Caitriona Perry
2 books7 followersCaitríona Perry is an award-winning Irish journalist. She's worked as a broadcast news correspondent since 2000 and is currently Washington Correspondent for Ireland's national public service broadcaster, RTÉ, where she works across television, radio and digital platforms. She has significant editorial experience and has previously worked as a news anchor, presenter, documentary maker, producer, and programme editor. She has won awards for her television and radio reportage, including most recently a National Justice Media Merit Award for TV News in June 2015.
She has an Undergraduate Degree in Journalism (2002) and a Masters Degree in International Relations (2010), both awarded by Dublin City University, which recently named her as one of the University's distinguished alumni. In addition to her home country of Ireland, Caitriona has reported on news stories across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Australia.
Her first book, 'In America: Tales from Trump Country' was published by Gill Books on October 27th 2017.
From January 2018, Caitríona will be the new co-presenter of the RTE SixOne News, anchoring the evening news Monday to Friday with Keelin Shanley, the first time the national broadcaster will have an all-female evening news anchor team.
She has an Undergraduate Degree in Journalism (2002) and a Masters Degree in International Relations (2010), both awarded by Dublin City University, which recently named her as one of the University's distinguished alumni. In addition to her home country of Ireland, Caitriona has reported on news stories across the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Australia.
Her first book, 'In America: Tales from Trump Country' was published by Gill Books on October 27th 2017.
From January 2018, Caitríona will be the new co-presenter of the RTE SixOne News, anchoring the evening news Monday to Friday with Keelin Shanley, the first time the national broadcaster will have an all-female evening news anchor team.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 16, 2020
It’s by your wan off the news!
What I found interesting:
Americas relationship with Ireland is actively cultivated and pruned and kept alive by much much effort on behalf of representatives of POTUS and an Taoiseach!
There are many Irish-Americans on both sides of the aisle in US politics who disagree on almost everything but come together because they love Ireland.
Ireland, and the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement have American support as well as EU support.
The cultivation of Irish-America is also active and not just something that occurs.
Ireland is a small nation with the ear of the US President once a year; it’s the sort of access nations much bigger than us would love to have.
Ireland is non-controversial and so easy for Republicans and Democrats to be friends with us.
Irish events, even political ones, are beloved by Americans, even politicians, because (basically) the craic is always mighty.
Now, it was very repetitive. Annoyingly so! And I don’t know why Caitríona wrote the book. Some rationale in the introduction as to what she wanted to figure out would have been great. There’s a summary that seems to suggest at something, but it’s something that hasn’t been seen throughout the book really, or not to the extent that you could include it in a closing summary. The summary feels a bit like a college student going over their word count in the body of their essay and having a hundred words or less left to close it out. It reads like that.
A mildly interesting look into Irish-America, politically speaking, that may or may not have been trying to answer a question, or maybe just profiling, or perhaps trying to suggest how to keep Irish influence in US politics alive. I’m not really sure.
What I found interesting:
Americas relationship with Ireland is actively cultivated and pruned and kept alive by much much effort on behalf of representatives of POTUS and an Taoiseach!
There are many Irish-Americans on both sides of the aisle in US politics who disagree on almost everything but come together because they love Ireland.
Ireland, and the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement have American support as well as EU support.
The cultivation of Irish-America is also active and not just something that occurs.
Ireland is a small nation with the ear of the US President once a year; it’s the sort of access nations much bigger than us would love to have.
Ireland is non-controversial and so easy for Republicans and Democrats to be friends with us.
Irish events, even political ones, are beloved by Americans, even politicians, because (basically) the craic is always mighty.
Now, it was very repetitive. Annoyingly so! And I don’t know why Caitríona wrote the book. Some rationale in the introduction as to what she wanted to figure out would have been great. There’s a summary that seems to suggest at something, but it’s something that hasn’t been seen throughout the book really, or not to the extent that you could include it in a closing summary. The summary feels a bit like a college student going over their word count in the body of their essay and having a hundred words or less left to close it out. It reads like that.
A mildly interesting look into Irish-America, politically speaking, that may or may not have been trying to answer a question, or maybe just profiling, or perhaps trying to suggest how to keep Irish influence in US politics alive. I’m not really sure.
February 9, 2020
While everyone in Ireland thinks that all American's love Ireland. But a lot of American's have a very scored picture of Ireland as if Ireland is still back in the old ideas of Ireland there grand-parents came from. We have same-sex marriages and now abortion is legal now both after being passed by referendums While before all people of Irish ancestry voted Democrats this is changing and more are floating voters or Republicans. But Ireland is one of the only countries that on St Patrick's day wherefrom all parties Irish politicians to both formal and informal meetings. Yet for 2 years there was no ambassador to Ireland was not taken up by anyone. A fact that would not happen in any other European country.
And while once Irish people had a reverence for all things American over the last couple of decides this is changing and not just because who is in the oval office.
Indeed one of the few Presidents besides Kennedy. President Clinton did the most for Ireland to bring a peace envoy to the North of Ireland and helping the peace in the North of the country going.
And while once Irish people had a reverence for all things American over the last couple of decides this is changing and not just because who is in the oval office.
Indeed one of the few Presidents besides Kennedy. President Clinton did the most for Ireland to bring a peace envoy to the North of Ireland and helping the peace in the North of the country going.
December 29, 2019
An appropriate Christmas present from my mum! Really good read, Caitriona Perry had great access in writing this book.
Four stars rather than five as some of the arguments are repeated over and over again, admittedly by different interlocutors. Also some of the more interesting questions regarding the future of the Irish American relationship only receive cursory attention, in particular the actions of Irish immigration centers for other immigrant communities and the fact that Irish companies are bringing employment to parts of America off the beaten track.
Shall have to check out Caitriona Perry's other book now!
Four stars rather than five as some of the arguments are repeated over and over again, admittedly by different interlocutors. Also some of the more interesting questions regarding the future of the Irish American relationship only receive cursory attention, in particular the actions of Irish immigration centers for other immigrant communities and the fact that Irish companies are bringing employment to parts of America off the beaten track.
Shall have to check out Caitriona Perry's other book now!
May 6, 2020
Either I misread what this book was about or there is a major gap but I was looking forward to understanding where the Irish political power once lay while bringing it up to the present day. There was little to no mention of Al Smith, Tammany Hall, the Daleys and even the Kennedys are skirted over. I believe that by not allocating even one chapter to outlining the growth and zenith of Irish American political power it then lessens the more recent history. I also found it poorly written in places, almost entirely dependent on direct quotes, often from relatively minor characters and containing a lot of repetition.
May 29, 2020
Very interesting and informative book by RTE reporter Caitriona Perry about power and influence of the Irish in US politics. She details the growth and decline of the power of the Irish in US politics. This culminated with the election of JFK as President in 1960. Irish now not a voting bloc anymore and many are now Republicans with many Irish American names in Donald Trumps administration.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews