As St Patrick's Day was being celebrated across America with the usual green beer and plastic shamrocks there is some more evidence that Irish influence in the US may be on the wane.
While more Americans than ever - forty million according to recent estimates - claim Irish ancestry, for many the connection lies in the distant rather than the recent past.
The numbers of recent arrivals from Ireland has slumped to its lowest level in over two centuries, according to the latest figures from the recently-disbanded US Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
While total immigration to the US from Ireland amounted to 57,000 between 1991 and 2000, most of this occurred in the first half of the decade. Over the past five years, an average of only 1,000 Irish people have immigrated legally to the US each year.
The main reason for the fall in Irish immigration is the Celtic Tiger, which has led to reduced emigration from Ireland and significant number of returning emigrants.
Tighter controls on immigration in the US have also contributed to a decline in Irish immigration.
The highest levels of immigration were recorded in the 1850s, when over 900,000 refugees from the Famine arrived in the US. Since 1820, a total of 4,782,083 arrived in America from Ireland, according to INS statistics.
The most recent estimate put the number of Irish illegals in the US at 30,000; this was large enough to rank the Irish 17th among illegal populations, but well behind Mexico, with 2.7 million illegals.
The number of Irish people deported each year has averaged about 50 in recent years.
Meanwhile, the number of Irish people taking up US citizenship is growing. More than 5,000 Irish-born people were naturalised in 2000, the highest figure for decades.
The INS statistics also show that 20 Irish people have been granted asylum in the US since the second World War.
The figures peaked in the 1970s, when eight Irish refugees were accepted; last year, only one Irish person was granted asylum.
Most Irish people now travel to the US temporarily, as tourists or on business or study visits; in 2000, over 400,000 such non-immigrants were admitted.
Those leaving from Ireland are cleared for immigration in Dublin airport, where the INS operates an inspection office.
