The Irish National Caucus (INC) is an Irish-American lobby group. It was founded by Father Sean Gabriel McManus on February 6, 1974, at a meeting of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The lobby group was formed to counterbalance British influences in the United States Congress and government, at a time when Northern Ireland was engulfed in violence. The situation was complicated, as Britain and the USA were allied in NATO during the Cold War against the Soviet Union, which collaborated with some Irish republican elements.