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Irish American Archives Society

2025 WALKS OF LIFE: SAVE THE DATE!


 
Thursday, MAY 8, 2025
Windows on the River
2000 Sycamore (44113)

 
Our distinguished 2025 Honorees are:
Judith Bartel, Chief Clinical Officer, Hospice of the Western Reserve
John J. Carney, Attorney and Real Estate Developer; Former Chair, Port Authority
Anthony Coyne, Managing Partner, Mansour Gavin; Former Chair, Cleveland Planning Commission
Judge Sean C. Gallagher, Eighth District Court of Appeals; West Side Irish American Club historian
Patricia Gaul, Chief Operating Officer, Playhouse Square Foundation; Irish Goodfellows coordinator

 
Event details:
6:00 Cash Bar 6:30 Dinner
7:30 Awards Ceremony

 
To read about our 2025 Walks of Life honorees, click here.

 
To find information about or to purchase tickets, ads, or table sponsorships, click here

 
Or send check & names of guests
by May 10 to
Irish American Archives Society
P.O. Box 91756
Cleveland OH 44101-3756

 
Invitations will be mailed in April!

 

The Johnny Kilbane Sculpture, "Fighting Heart," was dedicated ten years ago in Battery Park in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood!!!


 
Click here for photos of the anniversary event and the Cleveland visit of Sculptor Rowan Gillespie in September 2025.

 

Walks of Life Award and the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

In 2020, John Grabowski, editor of the online Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, invited IAAS to begin submitting biographical entries for deceased individuals who had received the Walks of Life award. Since 1997, IAAS has honored 131 distinguished individuals of Irish descent from various “walks of life." By the end of 2024, IAAS will have researched, written, and submitted 48 encyclopedia entries for deceased Walks of Life honorees. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History can be found online at https://case.edu/ech/.

Catch up on the IAAS Podcast Series "Finding Home"

"Finding Home" is a weekly podcast series produced and presented by the Irish American Archives Society of northeast Ohio. The first series presented a roughly chronological overview of that history over the course of 50 episodes, narrated by IAAS Executive Director Margaret Lynch. The second series features interviews with Clevelanders sharing information and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. A third series will begin later in the fall. All of the episodes, for the first and second series, are archived and can be accessed at the link below. Listen to episodes that interest you or follow the whole series.

Click here to access to access both series. You can also listen on Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts and other podcast platforms.

The launch of the IAAS podcast, Series Three, will not take place in November, as announced, but will take place after the New Year. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Let us know at iaasadmin@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or topics you'd like to know more about.

IAAS Newsletter
A new IAAS newsletter is in the mail, with stories about Irishtown Bend, the IAAS Podcast, and a recent discovery in County Mayo with Cleveland connections. Click here to read the newsletter.


 

The Day We Celebrate:
175 Years of Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day Parade SOLD OUT

Clevelanders have been gathering to celebrate St. Patrick's Day since 1842! The history of Cleveland's beloved St. Patrick's Day Parade is also the story of the Irish in Cleveland. Extensively researched, lavishly illustrated in full color, this handsome 200-page hard cover book pays tribute to one of the city's oldest and most vibrant public celebrations. The book is now sold out but most local libraries have lending copies. Casey's Irish Imports (19626 Center Ridge Rd #3635, Rocky River, OH 44116) has a limited number of books for purchase, as long as supplies last.


 

About Us


The Irish American Archives Society (IAAS) was founded in 1994 to support the collection and preservation of archival materials that document the history of the Irish American experience in northeast Ohio. The primary goal of the IAAS has been to raise funds to build and maintain an Irish American Archives at the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), the area's largest repository of materials for ethnic studies. A second goal of IAAS has been to support the development of exhibitions, books and other publications that draw on local collections to tell the stories of Irish immigrants.
Read More in the About IAAS section.


 
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P.O. Box 91756   /   Cleveland, Ohio 44101-3756
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