Elvis Presley fans have received a late St Patrick’s Day surprise – the King was Irish according to new claim.



The Irish Sun reports that Elvis should have been singing about green suede shoes thanks to his Carlow roots.



The paper reports that new research has revealed Presley’s ancestors came from the village of Hacketstown in Co Carlow.



The report says Presley’s forefathers found themselves in Heartbreak Hotel after a local row over land forced them to flee to America more than 200 years ago.



Carlow historian Michael Purcell has discovered that the singer’s ancestor William Presley fled Ireland for the US after being savagely battered by a group of ‘evil’ people.



The Irish Sun adds that William later moved to Carolina, where he had a son called Dunnan, and then moved on to Tennessee.



The report explains that Dunnan’s granddaughter Rosella was born in 1863 and though she never married, she had several children, including one called Jessie.



He named his son Vernon Elvis, and Vernon later named his son Elvis Aaron Presley, the man who went on to become The King.



Irish singer Richie Kavanagh has even written a song about Elvis’ Irish roots called ‘And That’s The Truth’.