Every year since 1991, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation declaring the month of March to be Irish-American Heritage Month, honoring the contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants to American life and culture. Here are just a few government publications to help you celebrate Irish-American culture today and throughout the month of March:

History

Irish-American Heritage Month: A Commemorative Observances Legal Research Guide: This guide from the Law Library of Congress provides a brief history of the laws and presidential proclamations related to establishing and designating March as Irish-American Heritage Month.

Northern Ireland, Brexit, and the Irish Border: This Congressional Research Service (CRS) Insight from 2018 captures the uncertainty about the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that existed as the United Kingdom prepared to leave the European Union (“Brexit”). 

Brexit: Status and Outlook: This Congressional Research Service Report addresses issues that have arisen regarding the Northern Ireland peace process and economic relations between the United States and the European Union (EU) since the United Kingdom formally withdrew from membership in the EU on January 31, 2020.

Northern Ireland: The Peace Process, Ongoing Challenges, and U.S. Interests: This Congressional Research Service Report published on March 5, 2026 discusses the long and often violent struggle between the national, cultural, and religious identities of Northern Ireland’s two dominant communities: unionists, or Protestants who largely define themselves as British and support Northern Ireland’s continued membership in the UK, and nationalists, or Catholics who consider themselves Irish and may favor a united Ireland. Successive U.S. administrations as well as many members of Congress have actively supported the Northern Ireland peace process, while assistance provided through the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) has sought to promote economic development and reconciliation.

Literature

Four Dubliners—Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett: Richard Ellmann was a widely-respected American literary critic who wrote important biographies of several Irish authors. In 1982, he gave a series of lectures at the Library of Congress discussing the lives and careers of four of Ireland’s most important authors: Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett. Originally published separately in four chapbooks, in 1986 these lectures were revised and brought together in this collection, which also highlights some intriguing connections among these authors.

Audio recordings of three of the original lectures are available at the Library of Congress: 

• Oscar Wilde at Oxford: A Lecture
• W.B. Yeats’ Second Puberty: A Lecture
• Samuel Beckett, Naymon of Noland

Some Irish Plays: A Selection: The Federal Theatre Project was a welfare measure set up during the Great Depression to support the dramatic arts as a social and educational force by providing jobs for out-of-work theatre professionals, and by providing affordable, enriching entertainment for the masses, especially those who could least afford to spend their meager income on artistic pursuits. This bibliography list several Irish plays, both classic and popular, written from 1899 to 1930, providing for each a brief synopsis and a list of the (usually modest) production requirements. Because of their educational value, simple sets, and small casts, these plays are ideal for staging by amateur and school groups.

Three Plays by Samuel Beckett: Ohio Impromptu, Catastrophe, and What Where: A Harold Clurman Theatre production featuring performances by Rand Mitchell, Kevin O’Connor, Leigh Taylor-Young, David Warrilow, and Daniel Wirth. These short plays were directed by Alan Schneider and recorded on March 26 and 27, 1984, in the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Seamus Heaney Reading His Poems in the Coolidge Auditorium, March 19, 1979: William Meredith introduces the Irish poet Seamus Heaney and reads Heaney’s poem “Midnight” from Wintering Out. Heaney then reads several of his own poems.

Music

“Irish Ethnic Recordings and the Irish-American Imagination,” in Ethnic Recordings in America: A Neglected Heritage: The American Folklife Center was established by Congress in 1976 “to preserve and present American folklife.” Their first major public event was a conference discussing sound recordings of various ethnic musical traditions in the United States. The presentations at that conference became the basis of a 1982 book. Irish-American folklorist and musician Mick Moloney’s chapter on Irish recordings explores several strains of Irish-American music, including works by Irish-American composers trained in the western European classical tradition, vaudeville comedy numbers and similar “stage-Irish” songs, traditional Irish dance tunes, and hybrid forms that combine these strains with traits of American popular music. He also discusses the surge of American interest in Irish folk music during the 1960s and 70s that was stimulated by the popularity of Irish performers such as the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.

If It Wasn’t for the Irish and the Jews: Irish and Jewish Influences on the Music of Vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley: In 2009, Mick Moloney gave an illustrated talk on a largely forgotten, yet highly influential, period in American popular music. This website provides a summary of the lecture and a recording of the webcast.

Irish Tin-Whistle Instruction Books: A Bibliography: The tin-whistle, also known as the penny-whistle, among other names, is inexpensive (although it does cost a bit more than a penny!) and easy to play, making it one of the most popular instruments for playing traditional Irish folk music. This historic reference aid from the American Folklife Center lists several instruction books that were published in the 1970s in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Food

Fat Chance: Is Irish butter as Green as Consumers Think? As Americans have expressed an increased preference for Irish butter, Irish farmers have responded to the demand by increasing cow numbers and fertilizer use. This executive briefing from the U.S. International Trade Commission discusses how these developments have resulted in the degradation of the Irish environment.

These articles from Smithsonian magazine provide background on the history and traditions of Irish cuisine and also include some delicious recipes to give you a taste of traditional Irish culture.

• Classic Irish Soda Bread: Learn how to make authentic Irish soda bread in the traditional way, with out all the fancy extras.
• A Brief History of Ireland’s Fortune-Telling Mashed Potato Dish: Colcannon, a side dish combining mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale, is traditionally eaten at Halloween, but its green hue also makes it perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
• Eating Irish Moss: This Irish seaweed makes a tasty pudding, salad, or even lasagna!
• Is Corned Beef Really Irish? This article debunks some common traditions and misconceptions associated with American celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day.

Article by Bobby Griffith.

Opening Image credit: John Reid, painter. Duval & Hunter, lithographer. St. Patrick’s Day in America. 1872. Popular Graphic Arts. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.