Andy Ireland

Who is Andy Ireland?

Andrew Poysell "Andy" Ireland was a U.S. Representative from Florida.

Born to a wealthy family in Cincinnati, Ohio, he attended a prestigious private school within the city. He finished his high school career at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, a school that is known as a stepping stone to the Ivy League. Ireland studied business at Yale University and did his graduate studies at Columbia University.

Ireland joined Barnett National Bank in Jacksonville, Florida in 1954, and in 1962 he became the president, chairman and chief executive officer, of American National Bank of Winter Haven, Florida. From 1968 to 1970, Ireland served as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ireland became involved in politics in 1966, when he successfully ran for the position of Winter Haven city commissioner. In 1981, he served as a delegate to the United Nations. Ireland was elected as a Democrat to the 95th United States Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses. However, on July 5, 1984, he switched party affiliation and continued in office as a Republican.