What Bertie Ahern describes as the 'unique friendship' between Ireland and the US is reinforced by the number of prominent Irish-Americans at Congress.
Most Irish Americans are currently associated with the Democratic Party, with some notable exceptions on the Republican side.
Senator Ted Kennedy
His family name and long history makes him the dean of Irish-Americans in the US Congress. His great-grandparents emigrated from New Ross, Co Wexford to Boston. He is also one of Barack Obama's most high-profile endorsers and a long-time advocate of immigration reform for Irish ex-pats.
Senator Patrick Leahy
This Vermont Senator's Irish roots trace through Montreal, Canada. He was the Senator who Dick Cheney allegedly told to 'go f*** yourself' during a 2004 group photo. He is also a huge fan of the Batman comics and even lent his voice to 'Batman: The Animated Series'.
Senator Susan Collins
Currently the only Irish Catholic Republican Senator, Susan Collins is the junior Senator from Maine. A notably moderate politician she is regarded as more bipartisan than most Republican Senators.
Congressman Patrick Murphy
The son of an Irish-American Philadelphia police officer, Mr Murphy is the only veteran of the Iraq War ever elected to Congress.
Following the New York Giants' Superbowl win this year, this die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan was the only member of the House to vote against a resolution congratulating the Giants.
'The only thing worse would have been a resolution honouring the Dallas Cowboys', Murphy later stressed.
Congressman Paul Ryan
A fifth-generation Irish-American Republican from the working-class town of Janesville, Wisconsin, he used his family's construction fortune and became one of the youngest members of Congress at age 28. Now he has been mentioned as a vice presidential candidate and holds one of the most conservative voting records in Congress.
Congressman Peter King
Republican Congressman King from New York has close links with Ireland. He was constantly under fire for his support in the past of Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA. He met a number of times with Gerry Adams in both Belfast and Washington.
Congressman Richard Neal
This Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts is co-chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs and personally met with Martin McGuinness in 2005 to congratulate him on the peace agreement.
