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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Hail to the Chief
Hail to the Chief

PDX Hibernian Independent for September 10, 2026 Trump lands in Dublin Saturday. The Irish Open. Next Meeting of the PHS. Katie Taylor’s triumph. More local Irish music. Intrepid Irish workers. Irish theater tour. GAA for kids.

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Don’t forget to remember
Don’t forget to remember

It may have happened here just over a hundred years ago, but the KKK takeover of Oregon politics has become a hot topic. Steve Law resurrects the reign of the KKK in his new book Peddlers of Hate. He’ll be reading from it at the Sept. 17 meetng of the Portland HIbernian Society at Kells Restaurant on SW 2nd Ave.

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Hundreds hear how the Klan targeted Oregon Catholics
Hundreds hear how the Klan targeted Oregon Catholics

At Powell’s Books on Burnside last night (Aug. 26), the HOT TOPIC was more than a hundred years old. More than 250 people, intrigued by how a domestic terrorist organization once dominated politics in Oregon, especially in Portland, showed up to hear Steve Law, author of Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920’s Oregon.

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Get out the fleece. PHS Fall Season is coming 
Get out the fleece. PHS Fall Season is coming 

You can find THE PORTLAND HIBERNIAN Society meeting schedule for Fall 2026 right here in the latest issue of the PDX Hibernian Independent. Featured speakers include Steve Law, actor of Peddlers of Hate - How the KKK seized power in 192os Oregon.

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From the Portland Hibernian Society Blog:

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Peddlers of Hate author talks about the Klan plan for Oregon
Peddlers of Hate author talks about the Klan plan for Oregon

When the Ku Klux Klan came to Oregon in the 1920s the second version of the domestic terrorist group was welcomed into Masonic Lodges and left its mark on Oregon politics. Steve Law, author of Peddlers of Hate - How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power In 1920s Oregon, talks about his research and the ramifications of that Klan power surge,

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A closer look at a legendary image of men at work
A closer look at a legendary image of men at work

It was 94 years ago in September that this photograph was taken. America was deep in a Depression and these eleven men were among hundreds in New York City risking their lives at sky-high jobs. It’s been reported that these workers Irish immigrants. True? Well, some were.

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With Katie Taylor you can believe the hype
With Katie Taylor you can believe the hype

A young Katie Taylor probably never imagined her final fight taking place at Dublin’s historic Croke Park. But it will and whether she wins or loses to Flora Pili she will always be an Irish boxing legend.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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