Kathy Hochul: New York's next governor influenced by Irish roots

Kathy Hochul has been lieutenant governor of New York State since 2015

The woman set to become New York's next governor is a proud Irish-American who has often spoken of how her Irish roots influenced her political outlook.

Kathy Hochul's Irish-born grandparents emigrated from County Kerry to the United States just over a century ago.

She recently described how they "had a profound impact" on her decision to enter politics.

Ms Hochul will become the first woman to lead New York state when she replaces Andrew Cuomo.

Mr Cuomo resigned after an independent inquiry found that he sexually harassed 11 women - allegations which he has denied.

Ms Hochul, who is lieutenant governor - Mr Cuomo's deputy - welcomed his resignation as "the right thing to do" and said she was ready to serve.

In two weeks' time, she will take office as the 57th governor of New York.

'American dream'

Ms Hochul was born Kathleen Mary Courtney in 1958.

Her website states she was "raised in a blue-collar Irish Catholic family in Buffalo that instilled a deep passion for public service and activism".

Her father, Jack Courtney, was an impoverished steel plant worker who later became president of a technology company.

Mr Courtney's parents both hailed from the same village in County Kerry, but the couple did not get together until after they emigrated to the American Midwest, meeting in Chicago in 1919.

In an article she wrote for the Irish Echo newspaper to mark St Patrick's Day earlier this year, Ms Hochul set out her Irish-American roots in detail.

"Just over 100 years ago, my father's parents fled lives surely destined for poverty in County Kerry," she wrote.

"From the migrant farms of South Dakota, to domestic servitude in Chicago and finally to a steel plant in Lackawanna, they suffered hardship like millions of immigrants before and after them, but ultimately lived the American dream.

"Looking back, I realize these two barely educated but loving people had a profound impact on my decision to enter public service."

Like many Irish and Irish-American families, she recalls her grandparents having an image of Jesus and a photo of President John F Kennedy displayed side by side in their home.

Ms Hochul has repeatedly pointed out that the two pictures were "placed equally in prominence".

"The juxtaposition of those two pictures showed me that compassionate ​service to others, which my religious beliefs call for, can be accomplished through political leadership," she wrote.

Kathy Hochul speaking in Coney Island in April this year

Both her parents and paternal grandparents were involved in "countless social causes" and she credits her Irish heritage for her own tendency to support the "underdog".

In her March 2021 article, she put her willingness to "fight the good fight" down to her Irish heritage.

"We certainly have poetry in our hearts, but we are scrappy... we know how to survive adversity, and we never back down from a battle for what is right, even against all odds.

"We love the underdog, because the Irish have been underestimated and persecuted throughout our history."

In 2016, she took part in an event in New York's Wagner Park to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising - a rebellion against British rule in Ireland.

She has previously travelled to Ireland to trace her ancestry, visiting both Kerry and Dublin.

However, some Irish customs appear to have been lost in translation over the decades, as she admitted the locals "just kind of laugh" at her American version of traditional Irish cooking, which included corned beef and cabbage.

In her current role, she has been active in Irish-American diplomacy, promoting business links between the two nations.