Irish in Indiana

On this St. Patrick’s Day, the Indiana Business Research Center offers a few statistics on Irish roots in the Hoosier State:

  • About 36.3 million U.S. residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2008. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland (4.4 million). The Irish ancestry is the nation’s second most frequently reported ancestry behind German.
  • Nearly 13 percent of all Hoosiers, 826,456 people, claimed an Irish ancestry in 2008. Massachusetts has the largest share of Irish ancestry (24 percent). The national average is 12 percent.
  • There were 1,937 Irish-born Indiana residents in 2008, which is less than 1 percent of all the population who claimed an Irish ancestry. The majority of these residents entered the United States before 1990 (71.9 percent).

Be sure to celebrate thoroughly and safely.

Irish Eyes Still Smiling on Business

Mark Esper at the U.S. Chamber (to which we have no affiliation — but many similar objectives, btw) recently offered a blog post about hosting a luncheon for Mary Coughlan, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment. What’s interesting is not only the work Ireland is doing to enhance its business community, but also how strongly the country’s economy is linked to Americans: 

During her remarks, Ms. Coughlan noted that 45% of all FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Ireland comes from the U.S. This should come as no surprise, she added, since Ireland offers a highly pro-business environment: flexible workforce, low taxes, and limited bureaucracy, to name a few things. Ms. Coughlan commented that the government of Ireland is working on all necessary fronts to maintain this pro-business momentum, including an enhanced focus on the need to sustain employment by investing in science, technology and innovation.

In addition, she spoke of recent economic reforms that Ireland has taken in light of the current global financial crisis. These include pursuing smarter regulations, expanding government investment in infrastructure and education, and creating a clearer and simpler tax system. Ms. Coughlan’s comments, as I noted during the luncheon, aligned with the business priorities that espoused here at the U.S. Chamber.

Our own Rebecca Patrick also penned an interesting BizVoice story in 2007 about Ireland’s business-related efforts that will offer more background.