Irish Denver

The very first Irish in Denver came as miners, railroad workers, soldiers, and domestic servants. These workers, cogs of an expanding American industrial empire, later gave way to 20th-century politicians, priests, and business leaders who defined Irish respectability. Denver has always been a prominent stopping point for Irish patriots and cultural icons on their way to California. Former visitors include Oscar Wilde, Michael Davitt, Eamon de Valera, and Mary McAleese. Irish cultural institutions and businesses continue to flourish across Denver, which today boasts of having the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the nation.

Denver native Dennis Gallagher, Denver's auditor, is son of Ellen Flaherty Gallagher and William Gallagher, a Denver firefighter. Dennis served 24 years in the Colorado Legislature and eight years on city council. Thomas Jacob Noel is a professor at the University of Colorado Denver, an author or coauthor of 40 books and articles, and appears as "Dr. Colorado" on Channel 9's Colorado & Company. James Patrick Walsh, author of Michael Mooney and the Leadville Irish, also teaches at the University of Colorado Denver and Regis University and is the founder of the Romero Theater Troupe, which brings nontraditional, social justice-related history to the general public.