United Irish Cultural Center

Mission

The United Irish Cultural Center is a nonprofit organization that promotes Irish history and culture and supports an all-Irish library, which has primary sources relating to the Irish in San Francisco circa 1900. As the first Irish social center in the United States built entirely by volunteer labor and community contributions, the United Irish Cultural Center has continued the work of its predecessors (such as the Knights of the Red Branch) in promoting and preserving Irish culture in the City by the Bay.

Featured Fun

If you can’t visit the United Irish Cultural Center’s beer garden, Wawona Gates, you can still learn about this overlooked location in the Sunset District. Watch “45 on 45th,” a video produced by Joey Yee presenting the story of Irish Centers in SanFrancisco–a San Francisco History Days 2020 exclusive.

“45 by 45: Hibernian Halls and Irish Centers in San Francisco” by Joey Yee

“45 by 45: Hibernian Halls and Irish Centers in San Francisco” by documentarian Joey Yee looks at the history of 160 years of Hibernian Halls and Irish Centers in San Francisco from the first site in the South of Market to the latest, The United irish Cultural Center located on 45th Avenue, celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.

Many thanks to:
Consul General Robert O’Driscoll, Consulate General of Ireland
Anne Cassidy-Carew, President, United Irish Cultural Center
Jennifer Drennan, librarian, the Patrick J. Dowling Library, United Irish Cultural Center
Elizabeth Creely, public historian, San Francisco Department of Memory
History and Heritage Committee of the United Irish Cultural Center
Joey Yee, documentarian
Dedicated to the hundreds of volunteers who built the United Irish Cultural Center.  Their hard work and dedication are the true foundation of the UICC.
The free world premiere of this short film was presented at San Francisco History Days on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 6:45PM.

Saturday, September 26, 2020 at 10:00AM – (Virtual) Touring the United Irish Cultural Center 

We look forward to taking participants on a tour of the UICC, now celebrating its 45th year. Starting Saturday, join archivist and librarian Jennifer Drennan and UICC member Elizabeth Creely as they take you on the first of two tours of the UICC, starting in the Dowling Library, which has one of the most unique, local collections of San Francisco Irish Americana in California, and ending in the member’s room for quick chat on Irish villages, Norman ruins and world fairs.

This event is free but pre-registration is required. 

Sunday, September 27, 2020 at 4:00PM- (Virtual) Statues and St. Patrick! Tour with the United Irish Cultural Center

Join Anne Cassidy-Carew, President of the UICC as she takes you on a tour of the St. Patrick’s Room, the heart of the center, with a quick pit stop at the statue of Ireland’s eternal champion: the mighty Ulster hero, Cu Chulainn.
This event is free but pre-registration is required.