According to the governments of the United States and Ireland, relations have long been based on common ancestral ties and shared values.

[1][2] Besides regular dialogue on political and economic issues, the U.S. and Irish governments have official exchanges in areas such as medical research and education.

[6] It altered the family structures of Ireland because fewer people could afford to marry and raise children, causing many to adopt a single lifestyle.

[9] Éamon de Valera, a prominent figure in the Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence, was himself born in New York City in 1882.

He also had difficulties with various Irish-American leaders, such as John Devoy and Judge Daniel F. Cohalan, who resented the dominant position he established, preferring to retain their control over Irish affairs in the United States.

Historian Bernadette Whelan concludes Dublin was disappointed regarding the negotiation of a US-Irish trade agreement and the purchase of weapons in the late 1930s.

As the Emergency progressed, more and newer equipment was purchased for the rapidly expanding force from the UK and the United States as well as some manufactured at home.

[20] U.S. foreign direct investment in Ireland has been particularly important to the growth and modernization of Irish industry since 1980, providing new technology, export capabilities, and employment opportunities.

[21] Nevertheless, voices on the political left have decried the "closer to Boston than Berlin" philosophy of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat government.

In February 1994, British Prime Minister John Major refused to answer US President Bill Clinton's telephone calls for days over his decision to grant Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams a visa to visit the United States.

[29] To the disappointment of the prime minister, Clinton lifted the ban on official contacts and received Adams at the White House on St. Patrick's Day 1995, despite the fact the paramilitaries had not agreed to disarm.

[25] The US also involved itself as an intermediary during the Northern Ireland peace process, including, in 1995, US Senator George Mitchell being appointed to lead an international body to provide an independent assessment of the decommissioning issue, and President Clinton speaking in favor of the "peace process" to a huge rally at Belfast's City Hall where he called IRA Fighters "yesterday's men".

[30] The government of Ireland has come under internal and external pressure to inspect airplanes at Shannon Airport to investigate whether or not they contain extraordinary rendition captives.

[31][32] Police at Shannon said that they had received political instruction not to approach, search or otherwise interfere with US aircraft suspected of being involved in extraordinary rendition flights.

[33] Ireland has been censured by the European Parliament for its role in facilitating extraordinary rendition and taking insufficient or no measures to uphold its obligations under the UN CAT.

During its 2004 Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland worked to strengthen U.S.-EU ties that had been strained by the Iraq War, and former Irish Taoiseach John Bruton was named EU Ambassador to the United States.

[39][40] During a visit to London in June 2021, the administration of President Joe Biden stated, "Any steps that imperil or undermine the Good Friday agreement will not be welcomed by the US.

"[39][41] In March 2023, Joe Biden visited Belfast, Northern Ireland, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Bill Clinton played a significant role in negotiating the GFA over several decades, and it has enjoyed bipartisan support in the United States.

[43] Jane Ohlmeyer, a history professor at Trinity College Dublin, said: "There can be a tendency — and we see this, for example, in the street murals in Belfast — to see the conflict through the prism of Northern Ireland, where republican nationalists sympathize with Palestine and loyalists, unionists with Israel".

Exports to the United States include alcoholic beverages, chemicals and related products, electronic data processing equipment, electrical machinery, textiles and clothing, and glassware.

Currently, there are more than 600 U.S. subsidiaries operating in Ireland, employing in excess of 100,000 people and spanning activities from manufacturing of high-tech electronics, computer products, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals to retailing, banking and finance, and other services.

The availability of an educated, well-trained, English-speaking work force and relatively moderate wage costs have been important factors.

For the first time in its modern history, Ireland experienced high levels of inward migration, a phenomenon with political, economic, and social consequences.

However, Irish citizens do continue the common practice of taking temporary residence overseas for work or study, mainly in the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere in Europe, before returning to establish careers in Ireland.