Honoring the Irish Signers: A Fourth of July Tribute

This Fourth of July, let us remember the fifty-six men who risked their lives for us by signing the Declaration of Independence. Did you know that some of those men were born in Ireland? John Dunlap, James Smith, George Taylor, and Matthew Thornton all signed the document, and were all from Ireland. John Dunlap was born in Strabane, County Tyrone. He printed the first copies of the Declaration. In August 1776, the Belfast Newsletter published it.

Another Ulsterman was James Smith, whose family was forced to leave their native land by the actions of abusive landlords; at the age of twenty, George Taylor left Antrim for America; in 1716, the Thornton family of Limerick joined 120 other families from the Bann Valley for the voyage to America.

Did you know that one Catholic of Irish heritage signed the document? Charles Carroll of Maryland was the only Catholic to sign. His family has connections to County Offaly. He also has the distinction of being the longest of the signers to live, dying at the age of 95.

Other signers of Irish heritage included: Thomas Lynch Jr., Thomas McKeon, George Read, and Edward Rutledge. Thomas Lynch Jr.’s grandfather was from Galway and was exiled after the defeats of the Jacobites at Aughrim and the Boyne. He replaced his father as a signature due to his father’s illness. Thomas McKeon’s father was from County Antrim. He later served as Governor of Pennsylvania. George Read was one of two statesmen to sign the Declaration of Independence, the petition from the Congress in 1774 to the King of England, and the Constitution of the United States. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge of South Carolina, who was of Scots-Irish heritage.

So, on this Fourth of July, let us remember these proud Irish Americans, who became a great part of our American history too.