About Us

At the Sofitel Hotel in North Houston, Dorothy Davitt and Honorary Consul John Kane planned the beginnings of the Houston Irish Society. They were its founders. The Irish Society began as the Irish Heritage Society on October 15, 1999 with 20 people in attendance at Pat Sharkey's law office. Those in attendance were Mike Daly, Dorothy Davitt, Judge Daniel Downey, +Mary Lu & +Paul Doyle, Mary Jo Clancy Faykus, Eamonn Finnerty, +Mary & Jim Keagan, Delia Fitzpatrick, Michael Fleming, Rev. Charles Greene, D.D., Col. Michael Harrington, USMC (Ret.) +Ann Caraway Ivins, Honorable John Kane, Dr. Joseph McFadden, Glenn McCarthy, Jr., Leah McCarthy McCurry, Madeline O'Brien, and our present President, Pat Sharkey. Shortly thereafter our first official membership list had 90 members, thanks to Dorothy Davitt's many "lists" from past Houston Irish groups and events. It only took a couple of board meetings for our organization to plan for the future. Patrick Sharkey drew up the Irish Society corporate charter and also applied for and obtained 501(C.)(3) charitable organization status.

The Irish Society really began to develop under our first president, John Reynolds. It was John Reynolds, John Kane, and Charles Greene that seduced Conlin "Lyn" Brogan into joining the organization. "Lyn" was inducted and became the first (and only) Treasurer in 2000. Dr. Joseph "Tip" McFadden became the second president in 2001. It was under his leadership that the organization really evolved. It was "Tip" that organized a meeting of then Father J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., President of the University of St. Thomas, with "Lyn," Charles Greene, and John Kane. It was that eventful meeting that led to the establishment of an Irish Studies Program and a Center for Irish Studies at UST. "Lyn" was immediately assigned the responsibility of establishing an Irish Society Gala that would bring in funds to fulfill our financial obligation of this mission. He set up the first four Irish Society Galas at the Petroleum Club. Between the efforts of Dorothy, "Tip," Ann Ivins, and "Lyn," membership crescendoed. These four essential board members then fortunately enlisted The Irish Society Newsletter Editor and Webmaster, David O'Keefe, who became everybody's adjutant and was eventually elected to the Board.

On January 23, 2003, the Center for Irish Studies was officially inaugurated by Irish Consul General Charles Sheehan, who came to Houston from Chicago for that purpose. Lori Megan Gallagher became its first and only Director.

In June, 2004, Sean Fitzpatrick organized the Irish Society young adults (21-35 yrs). During the year the young adults enjoy lively get-togethers sponsored by our organization.

The Sixth Annual Irish Gala was recently held at the Houstonian Hotel. The Gala, jointly sponsored by the Center for Irish Studies and the Irish Society, marked the continuation of the Society's financial commitment to help support the Center for Irish Studies. The vision of the Irish Society's founders as the home of Houston, Texas' Irish community and a guardian of Irish culture is now in the process of expanding. We are grateful for the continued contributions of the membership and our friends. Part of our original plan was to act as a financial umbrella of other worthy Irish, religious, and civic groups. We have remained a non-political and nonsectarian organization.

There are still 45 of our original 90 members active. It is important to note that our present active membership has more than 270 members. And we are proud to announce that we have 73 lifetime members.