Hi Barbara,
Icouldn't help but read your question. I agree there is a considerable amount of African Americans past and present who have Irish ancestry. I recently did a search and found the following who had Irish Ancestry:

The Late Rosa Parks
The Late Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.
The Late Alex Haley
Mariah Carey
Derrick Jetter
Muhammed Ali
Eddie Murphy
President Barack Obama
and many more

There are many professional African American athletes who have Irish Surnames.Shaquille O'Neal is one ofthem, however, he denies he has any Irish ancestry.

Ihope this helps.
Ac Johnson