Center for Irish Studies

Villanova’s Irish Studies Program was founded in 1979 and elevated to a Center in 2016 thanks to the generosity of the Connelly Foundation. The Center for Irish Studies provides innovative courses in seven disciplines open to all University students to study Ireland and its diaspora. 

The Center recognizes its role at Villanova University, founded by Irish Augustinians in Philadelphia in 1842, to explore the global dimensions of the Irish experience.  Irish Studies provides students in all colleges the opportunity to participate in vigorous conversations about Irish identity, history and culture through our multidisciplinary Minor in Irish Studies.

The Center sponsors two Villanova student groups—the Irish Cultural Society and the Irish Dance Team—and collaborates on events with local Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Irish-American groups, such as the Consul General of Ireland, the Irish Immigration Center, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Philadelphia Ceili Group, and the Irish American Business Chamber and Network.