Catholic Church in Ireland
In the 2016 Irish census 78.3% of the population identified as Catholic in Ireland; numbering approximately 3.7 million people. Unlike Catholics in the United States, Ireland has seen a significant decline from the 84.2% who identified as Catholic in the 2011 census.
Irish Americans
Al Smith and later John F. Kennedy were the political heroes for Catholics. Al Smith, who had an Irish mother and an English-German father, in 1928 became the first Catholic to run for president. From the 1830s to the 1960s, Irish Catholics voted heavily Democratic, with occasional exceptions like the election of 1920. Their precincts showed average support levels of 80%. As historian Lawrence McCaffrey notes, "until recently they have been so closely associated with the Democratic party that Irish, Catholic, and Democrat composed a trinity of associations, serving mutual interests and needs. "