Upcoming Events

Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 5pm on Zoom

Join us Sunday February 22, 2026 at 5pm on Zoom as the ILHS hosts Brian O’Halloran speaking on The Irish National League in San Jose.

In the 1880s, San Jose was a modest agricultural market town—just one-twentieth the size of San Francisco—and its Irish-born residents made up only five percent of the population. Yet this small community became an outsized force in the struggle for Irish self-determination. The Irish of San Jose established the Michael Davitt Branch of the Irish National League, welcomed Davitt himself along with other prominent nationalist leaders, and contributed a remarkable share of financial support to the cause. This is the little-known story of how a small, rural California town played a big role in Irish nationalism.

Brian O’Halloran graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in History. There his research interests centered on the Irish in California. As an undergraduate he also attended Trinity College, Dublin as part of the UC Education Abroad program. He went on to receive a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning also from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired after a career as an executive at an international design and construction firm he is an active member of Moycullen Heritage, the community based historical society in Moycullen, County Galway. He leads the Moycullen Heritage DNA project which focuses on researching and developing ties between Moycullen and its Diaspora.

Date: Sunday, February 22 at 5pm

On Zoom