Portland, Oregon’s connection to Ireland and Irish America

The Portland Hibernian Society exists for anyone who wants to get together with like-minded people to learn more about Ireland - its history, its culture, its people, its politics. We gather on the Third Thursday of the month (Sept. through July) at Kells Restaurant (112 SW Second Ave Portland). You never know what we’ll be getting up to. The PHS also publishes a newsletter The PDX Hibernian Independent.

From The Hibernian Independent:

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PDX Hibernian Independent - Bloomsday Edition
PDX Hibernian Independent - Bloomsday Edition

Bloomsday - June 16, 1904 - fell on a Thursday. So tonight - June 18 - is the night for your Portland Hibernian Bloomsday. Full coverage in this week’s PDX Hibernian Independent.

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PDX Hibernian Independent for June 11, 2026
PDX Hibernian Independent for June 11, 2026

In this week’s edition of the PDX Hibernian Independent: Portland Irish dance legend passes. Back to Belfast and rioting for Michelle O’Neill. When was the last time either team from the island of Ireland made the World Cup? Don’t forget Bloomsday.

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Molly Bloom’s June swoon
Molly Bloom’s June swoon

This week’s PDX Hibernian Independent features the long-forgotten story of how the political reign of the Ku Klux Klan came crashing down in Oregon. Klan-connected Multnomah County Commissioners got caught trying to cash in. PLUS Bloomsday is coming to Kells Restaurant.

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From James Joyce to Maeve Binchy
From James Joyce to Maeve Binchy

Believe it or not, there is a theater production based on the novel Ulysses FOR KIDS eight and older. It’s called You’ll See…Read about it in this week’s PDX Hibernian Independent.

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From the Portland Hibernian Society Blog:

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James Joyce loved his father even though few others did
James Joyce loved his father even though few others did

For some James Joyce scholars the author’s relationship with his father John was complicated. For Joyce himself it was simple: He loved him despite his faults. A son’s love and a father’s flaws - and vice versa - make for a timeless Father’s Day story.

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Joyce’s “locale was Celtic and his season Spring”
Joyce’s “locale was Celtic and his season Spring”

Bloomsday. Has any other novel ever inspired annual celebrations as Ulysses has? James Joyce’s masterwork was banned in America during the 1920s. Then a Republican Judge in New York City read it and ruled that it wasn’t obscene. The rest is literary history.

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Ireland women under Carla Ward are World Cup ready
Ireland women under Carla Ward are World Cup ready

Carla Ward is hoping to coach the Ireland Women’s National Team into next year’s World Cup with a win tonight (Tuesday June 9) over France. She’s got five wins against just one loss since taking over as manager in January 2025.

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Portland’s Irish Potato Famine Memorial

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The brilliant career of Mary McAleese
The brilliant career of Mary McAleese

Mary McAleese (L), the eighth President of Ireland (1997 - 2011) came to Portland seventeen years ago to dedicate the Celtic Cross at the Oregon Potato Famine Memorial. Find out more about who she is and what she’s doing today.

Build the Nation: A Blessing
Build the Nation: A Blessing

by Father Jim Galluzzo. Delivered at the fifteenth anniversary of the dedication of the Oregon Potato Famine Memorial - 13 December 2023 - Mount Calvary Cemetery Portland Oregon.

Oregon Potato Famine Memorial 15th Anniversary
Oregon Potato Famine Memorial 15th Anniversary

In the summer of 2023, the newly appointed Consul General of Ireland on the West Coast, Micheal Smith, came to Portland to visit the Oregon Potato Famine Memorial. Here’s the presentation given to familiarize Smith with its back story and the accomplishment this Memorial represents for local members of the Irish Diaspora.