I just Googled "History of Irish Chain Quilt Block" and found:
Irish Chain
Maker unknown, possibly made in northeastern Ohio
Circa 1880 -1900
International Quilt Study Center, Ardis and Robert James Collection,
1997.007.0012
Did the Irish Chain quilt originate in Ireland? Perhaps. Quilt historian Barbara Brackman gives 1814 as the earliest known date of an Irish Chain quilt. However, researchers have discovered an earlier quilt from about 1805 with a similar pattern, which was brought to America from Ireland. Another theory claims that the pattern may have emerged from weaving patterns.
Wherever this pattern originated, it has endured as one of America's most popular. According to Brackman's book, Clues in the Calico, "Most Irish Chain quilts are made of two blocks, one pieced in a check pattern; the other plain with squares appliquéd to the corners. With 25 checks in the pieced square, it is a Double Irish Chain; with 49, a Triple Irish Chain.