U2's Bono wants to take Joe Biden down to his local Dalkey pub and help the vice-president trace his Irish roots.

"He's a Finnegan. His mother was a Finnegan, which is the name of my local pub, so I have to introduce him to my local publican," said the rock star, who was speaking at The Hero Summit in Washington when he issued his invite to the VP.

It is believed that Bidens' roots can be traced back to Co Louth.

According to the Irish Independent, recent research has found that 19 American presidents can trace their roots back to Ireland. That is nearly half of the 44 men who have been sworn into office.

Although JFK is the most famous Irish-American president, many others including Ronald Reagan, Woodrow Wilson and the current US president Barack Obama can all claim Irish bloodlines.

Former US President Bill Clinton recently revealed he would be eligible to run for president in Ireland because of his Irish heritage.

"There are only two countries that I'm eligible to run for the leaderships position. If I moved to Ireland and buy a house I can run for president of Ireland because of my Irish heritage," said Clinton, who will be the guest of honor of businessman JP McManus' annual All Ireland Scholarship awards ceremony in Limerick this weekend.