Irish Cultural Center
1106 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
602-258-0109 www.azirish.org

Irish for everyone Cultural Center plants wee bit of old sod in Phoenix

Scott Craven
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM

The first thing you notice, as you drive on Central Avenue past office buildings and parking garages, is the roof. Its color and texture lend character to the streetscape, its size and shape compelling further investigation.

The Irish Cultural Center is meant to be incongruous. Its grand hall and its 19th-century-era cottage, each with stone walls, are meant to invoke the Old Country, a wee bit of Ireland in the midst of an urban landscape.

Patricia Prior feels herself leaving Arizona each time she steps through the gate. The Dublin native and longtime volunteer at the center feels at home here, and the architecture is only the beginning. advertisement

The center also offers Irish art, culture and history, featuring a more realistic look at the Emerald Isle other than, as Prior said, "the leprechauns and green beer so many people associate with the Irish."

"The center gives people a much better understanding of what Ireland is really all about," Prior said. "And those who have Irish roots feel a connection here."

IRISH INSIGHT

That was the center's intent when it was conceived more than a decade ago. Intent has since turned to achievement, as the center hosts classes, concerts and exhibits that provide insight into the complexities of Ireland's culture and history. It has become the heart of the Irish community, one that resonated not only with those who trace their roots to the Emerald Isle, but for those who have stopped for a beer and stayed to drink in the rest of what the center offers.

More than two decades ago, the cultural center was merely a glint in the Irish eyes of City Councilman Howard Adams, who dreamed of a place that would celebrate Ireland's contributions to arts and culture. Without money and land, however, such a place remained a dream, until a phone call 10 years ago changed everything.

Bill O'Brien, a cowboy and ranch owner who was in the process of studying his Irish roots, picked up the phone and immediately recognized Adams' voice. Adams had a simple request: make the Irish cultural center a reality.

O'Brien arranged lunch attended by 23 people, a who's who of the Valley's Irish community. Before the last toast was made, $93,000 had been pledged.

"Not bad for lunch," O'Brien said. "It made me wonder what we could have done if we'd had dinner instead."

It would take almost six more years to raise money, find land and break ground on the center. Location also was an issue, O'Brien said. The center was originally to be built just east of the Burton Barr Central Library, hidden from view to those driving along Central Avenue. O'Brien was incensed.

"I said to Howard, 'This is a crummy location,' " O'Brien said. "No way were we going to be buried back there."

After phone calls and much dickering, O'Brien and Adams secured the center's site on the fringes of the Margaret T. Hance Park, just west of Central.

LARGE COMMUNITY

In September 1999, the fruits of their efforts were first noticed with the dedication of the An Gorta Mór (the Great Hunger) Memorial, a monument to the potato famine that devastated Ireland from 1845 to 1852.

A fungus wiped out the potato crop, starving millions and forcing millions more to seek new homes across the sea. Thousands eventually found homes in Arizona, said Sean Lee of Phoenix who spearheaded fund-raising for the monument. The Valley's Irish community now numbers about 500,000 people, according to the 2000 census.

"That was a strong motivation for the memorial," Lee said. "I and many others felt the contributions made by the Irish, particularly after the famine, deserved recognition."

Organizers wanted a place for concerts, dances, meetings and special events, so construction soon started on Hala Mor (Irish for "great hall"), modeled on Irish meeting halls of the mid-1800s.

It was dedicated on warm, clear March day in 2002, complete with speeches and music. Still, it wasn't complete. Adams did not live to see his dream come true. He died of liver cancer in 2001.

"That was the only thing that took away from that beautiful day," Prior said. "If only Howard had been there."

In 2004, construction was completed on a replica of an 1850s Irish cottage, modeled on one near Bunratty Castle in County Clare, Ireland.

There were a few concessions to cost and building codes, said Mary Moriarty, an executive assistant at the center. First, it would have been too costly to build the cottage and meeting hall with layered stone, so a stone façade was placed over a block wall.

Builders also nixed the thatch roof that covered the typical 19th-century Irish farmhouse. The summer heat could turn the thatch into tinder, so a slate roof was determined to be a much better, if historically inaccurate, choice.

BOOK OF KELLS

The centerpiece of the cottage is a replica of the Book of Kells, an ancient manuscript kept under glass at Trinity College in Dublin.

The Book of Kells, believed to have been created by Irish monks in the seventh or eighth century, is a lavishly lettered and illustrated copy of the Four Gospels, a priceless relic of Irish art. In the 1980s, a Swiss publisher spent four years reproducing the book in detail, printing 1,480 copies.

Lee, after his involvement with the famine memorial, thought it fitting that he lend his $18,000 copy to the Irish Cultural Center.

"Better there where people could see it and enjoy it than in my living room," he said.

Such sharing of Irish culture has become an integral part of the center, whose purpose goes far beyond its walls.

CLASSES, SPECIAL EVENTS

The center is home to the Academy of Irish & Celtic Studies, which sponsors classes that follows the three "E"s: educate, enrich and entertain.

Up to five days a week, there are people at the center learning how to play the harp, or discovering ceili (pronounced CAY-lee, an Irish dance), or studying Gaelic.

The nine-week terms typically draw about 75 students, Moriarty said. There are as many as 16 classes each term, several of them for children.

The center also hosts special events, from the annual St. Patrick's Day Faire to last year's dinner with Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland.

LIBRARY PLANNED

O'Brien is just as instrumental in expanding the center. He envisions a 1,000-volume Irish library, one housed in the Burton Barr Central Library (just east of Central) until a suitable building is constructed at the center.

The plan has just become the subject of conversations between O'Brien and the library, and there's no timetable for the project. Still, O'Brien hopes to see an Irish Cultural Center Library in the next three years.

"The beauty of the center is that it isn't just for those Irish descent, it's for everyone," O'Brien said. "There's plenty to share."

What: A grand hall and cottage that evoke mid-1800s Ireland. Grounds include the Book of Kells Museum, a memorial to An Gorta Mór (Gaelic for "the Great Hunger," the potato famine of the 1840s) and a courtyard. The center hosts classes, concerts, special events and more.

Where: 1106 N. Central Ave., Phoenix.

When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.

Admission: Free.

Classes: The Academy of Irish & Celtic Studies offers nine-week terms in music, dance and language for children (7-12) and adults (13 and older). Classes are 50 minutes. Registration is open three weeks before each term; the next term starts April 3. Prices vary.

In the works: A dinner hosting John Bruton, former prime minister of Ireland; attempting to schedule an exhibit of Brian P. Burns Collection, a significant collection of mid-19th- and 20th-century art; arranging a 1,000-volume library of Irish literature.

Details: (602) 258-0109, azirish.org.

AN ISLAND OF IRISH LORE IN MIDDLE OF THE DESERT
Scott Craven, The Arizona Republic

Stepping through the gate of the Irish Cultural Center, you expect to see a wisp of smoke floating from the chimney of the small stone cottage just to your right.

Though hardly the Irish countryside (nearby high-rises dispel that notion), the center offers an architectural charm found nowhere else in Phoenix.

Famine remembered

Though the cottage beckons with its layered-stone walls and pitched slate roof, cross the courtyard to the stone arch just ahead.

The Great Hunger Memorial, the first structure erected at the cultural center, is a monument to the 1840s potato famine that devastated Ireland, forcing millions to leave the island. At the top of the memorial, bridging a stack of stones and a pillar inscribed with the famine's story and terrible toll, is a dolmen stone, a large capstone used by ancient peoples of the British Isles to mark tombs, said Sean Lee, who spearheaded the funding drive to build the memorial.

This particular stone was found in northern Arizona, a local touch to the sturdy monument.

Replicating history

On the other side of the courtyard, the cottage is a charming building constructed of what looks like layered flagstone ('tis but a convincing facade with cinder-block walls behind). In keeping with the timeline established by the hunger memorial, the cottage is a replica of an 1850s Irish farmhouse and houses a museum and gift shop.

The centerpiece of the museum is a detailed replica of the Book of Kells, a revered Irish religious manuscript dating back centuries.

The gift shop offers everything from souvenirs to food, goods you might find at a Dublin convenience store. Don't miss the Crunchie bar, aerated toffee in a thin coating of chocolate. It has no U.S. equal.

Next to the cottage is the meeting hall, an imposing structure featuring exposed brick. Patterned after a mid-19th-century Irish barn, which often doubled as a meeting hall, this building was made larger than what would be found on a farm so it could accommodate various meetings and concerts, said Mary Moriarty, the center's executive assistant.

Annual festivals

The cultural center hosts two large Irish festivals each year.

In March, the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Faire brings thousands of people to the center and adjacent Margaret T. Hance Park. People dripping in green gather to toast their heritage, and everyone becomes Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Rain on Saturday washed out this year's festival.

The Irish Festival in October pays tribute to the Celtic origins of Halloween. Costumed children gather treats from vendors as adults stroll among arts and crafts booths while listening to Irish music.

With the two festivals occurring as Phoenix typically experiences its best weather, it's as if the Irish knew the Valley would make a fine home.

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