Date/Time and Location
A DEIA celebration of St. Patrick’s Day was held on Friday, March 17, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
During this Tell Your Story event, John Dunlap and Julie Kenny walked us through a brief history of Ireland, John’s genealogical research into family history, Irish culture, and the Irish-American experience today. We took a trip to the Emerald Isle and its deep connection to Boston and beyond. We then open up the discussion for those with Irish Heritage to share their stories after the presentation.
Closed captions and a transcript were provided by a Certified Realtime Captioner.
About Irish-American Heritage Month
March is Irish-American Heritage Month. First celebrated in 1991, Irish-American Heritage Month is celebrated with a proclamation from the President of the United States, and coincides with St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Ireland, and while originally a religious holiday in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has become a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and heritage. The holiday was first publicly celebrated in the United States in 1737 by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston. In Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day remained a religious holiday until the 1970s, when it became a public holiday. Today, the holiday is celebrated with parades, festivals, and other festivities in Ireland and around the world, and it has become a symbol of Irish culture and heritage.
Ireland has a history of immigration, with 8.5 million people living in Ireland in 1841 and only 5 million people in Ireland today. The peak immigration years to the United States were 1845-1852. More than 31.5 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, according to the US Census, with Massachusetts falling only second to New Hampshire in Irish Ancestry as a share of total population.
Ireland is a country rich with culture and tradition. From food, to music, to dance, Ireland has a national identity that has been celebrated across the world.