Our Story
The Vision
Dreams to Reality
Several years ago a group of Kansas Citians articulated a vision to create a place that would support, honor, preserve and celebrate the Irish and Celtic heritage of our community, families, and individuals year-round.
Union Station
2007—2016
The Irish Center’s first home was in Union Station. It opened on St. Patrick’s Day 2007. Union Station and the Irish have a strong historical link. From the Irish immigrants who provided much of the workforce that built the railroads, to later immigrants coming through Union Station to start a new life in the Midwest, to the thousands of Irish-American soldiers who shipped out and came home through Union Station, to the Irish-American workers who dug the coal and butchered the livestock transported across the country from Union Station.
Drexel Hall
2016—Present
The Center’s programming and events have grown over the years to the point that a new, permanent home was needed. On September 1st, 2016 the Kansas City Irish Center purchased the historic Drexel Hall building at the corner of Linwood and Baltimore. This new home is in the heart of Kansas City’s historic Irish neighborhoods and is central to many of the Irish events in Kansas CIty.
Our Leadership
Mary Kate Gliedt
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mary Kate first came to the Irish Center as an intern in 2011, and is thrilled to be back ten years later as a staff member. In between, Mary Kate earned a Master’s degree in Museum Studies at New York University and worked for the New York Historical Society and Tenement Museum as a senior educator, sharing history with children and adults alike and piloting new programming. Most recently, Mary Kate was the Manager of Genealogy at the St. Louis Public Library.
Board of Directors
Jan Aylward, President
Katie McGurk, Vice President
Mike O’Neill, Treasurer
Lauren Whitaker, Secretary
Rory Akers
Kevin Bundy
Jon Capps
Amanda Crawford
Kevin Collison
John Kane
Micheal Mahoney
Pat McInerney
Kate O’Rourke
Jeff Slattery
Jay Burrus, Emeritus
Kathie Conwell, Emeritus
Mike Furlong, Emeritus
Pat O’Neill, Emeritus
Barbara Scanlon, Emeritus