Irish Cultural & Heritage Center

Story

The ICHC is home to five organizations and hosts many others, including: Avenues West Association, St. Andrew Society, and Ancient Order of Hibernians.
• More than 200 entertainment acts have performed at the Center since 1997 - such as Cathie Ryan, Aoife Clancy, Cherish the Ladies, The Wolf Tones and Gaelic Storm. Black 47 & the Trinity Irish Dancers broadcast live for PBS from the Center, and Larry King did a remote interview with 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean after his town hall meeting in the Hallamór. Author Morgan Llewellyn lectured here during a Celtic Women International conference.
• Visiting dignitaries from Ireland include President Mary McAleese and Minister of State Bernard Allen.
• More than 75,000 people have attended public events, dances, classes, and concerts at the Center.
• Since 1998, we have proudly recognized a "Volunteer of the Year" for their support of the ICHC mission.
• The Center is home to two libraries: The ICHC Irish Library is a collection of nearly 1,000 donated titles of Irish interest which circulate to members. These include works of fiction, memoir, history, language, travel and culture. The Irish Emigration Library, offers unique resources and knowledgeable volunteers to help people trace their Irish roots. Sponsored by the Irish Genealogical Society of Wisconsin, the library is free and open to the public each Wednesday from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m.
• The ICHC has a gallery, three performance spaces (The Hallamór, Parlor B and upper hall), two relaxing bars (Quinlan's Pub and the lower level pub), a board room and several meeting rooms.

The Center's premiere space - The Hallamór- boasts a grand arched three-sectioned stained glass window, 34 paired stained glass aisle windows, a cruciform floor plan with three balconies and 172 pews, and an operational 4000-pipe Kimball organ.

Mission

Since 1996 The Irish Cultural and Heritage Center has called our present location on West Wisconsin Avenue, home. The years since then have been filled with promise and dreams and a lot of activity. Over the years we've built a dedicated band of volunteers, business owners, musicians, dancers, artisans, playwrights, actors, poets, historians and educators who have one goal in mind - presenting top-notch cultural education and entertainment for the local community. This tradition has enabled us to attract a tremendous array of stars including some of the best names in Irish entertainment such as Tommy Makem, Paddy Reilly, Frank Patterson, Cherish the Ladies, the Black Family and Gaelic Storm to name but a few; also visiting Irish dignitaries such as the Lord Mayor of Galway, the Irish Consuls of Chicago, and local political leaders.
We showcase beautiful Celtic art, engravings, photographs and historical displays in constantly revolving exhibitions. The ICHC is home to dance schools which develop future stars of this growing popular youth activity. Many groups hold regular meetings, parties, fund-raisers, classes, films and lectures as well as present Irish plays, author book-signings, weddings and receptions. There are now two distinct libraries which are open to the public on a regular basis, the ICHC Irish library and the genealogical library sponsored by the Irish Genealogical Society of Wisconsin.

A lot has changed since we first opened our doors but one thing remains constant. The true strength of this organization comes from you - our loyal friends and committed supporters.

Your generous support of our mission will help ensure our future.

The regular participants in ICHC activities enjoy several exclusive privileges, including discounts on concert subscriptions, a bi-monthly newsletter An Gael Talk which reaches 3,000 people six times each year; the opportunity to serve on the board of directors and enormous networking possibilities.

All of us here appreciate your kind generosity. We look forward to seeing you soon!