Irish Studies Research Guide

The American Irish Historical Society is a center of Irish culture and knowledge located in New York City. You are very welcome to attend our events, conduct research in our library, and help support our mission. In continuous operation since 1897, the Society has been non-partisan and non-sectarian since its inception. The Society welcomes new members and is pleased to make its library and select events open to the public.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is America’s oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization founded concurrently in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and New York City in May,1836. The Order can trace its roots back to a series of similar societies that existed in Ireland for more than 300 years. Today the AOH exists in America, Canada, Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, however, while the organizations share a common thread, the American AOH is a separate and much larger organization.

The Celtic Studies Association of North America (CSANA) embraces all aspects of Celtic Studies and provides a forum that is unavailable in a discipline- or area-based organization. Our members are interested in the languages, literature, history, folklore, music, art and archaeology of ancient, medieval, and modern Celtic cultures.

Founded in 1972, Irish Arts Center is a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, building community with artists and audiences of all backgrounds, forging and strengthening cross-cultural partnerships, and preserving the evolving stories and traditions of Irish culture for generations to come. Our multi-disciplinary programming is centered around three core areas: performance – including live music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and the humanities; exhibition – including visual arts presentations and cultural exhibitions that tell the evolving Irish story; and education – with dozens of classes per week in Irish language, history, music, and dance.

The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc was first organized as an Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America in 1894 with the women’s organization being authorized to form its own governing structure, subject to the approval of the men officers of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America. The men’s organization is commonly referenced as the AOH, while the ladies’ organization was first referenced as the LAAOH and is now known as the LAOH. The women of the LAOH and the men of the AOH worked both collaboratively and independently on projects and events for nearly 110 years adhering to the final authority of the men’s organization. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America (LAAOH), after some study, completed the legal process to incorporate as a separate entity from the AOH. The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Inc was incorporated in New York in 2004 as a separate legal organization with its own governance structure wholly separate from the governance structure of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America.