1973: Defining Irish

St. Patrick's Day parade
A peddler and revelers during St. Paul's 1978 St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

In 1962 Dr. Eoin McKiernan helped to raise the level of awareness of Irish culture in the US by writing a series of public television shows about the country. Two years later, he founded the Irish American Cultural Institute in St. Paul.

The institute moved to New Jersey in 1995 and is still plays a vital role in Irish-American culture.

In this 1973 interview with MPR reporter Connie Goldman, McKiernan discusses St. Patrick's Day from an Irish point of view. He says the holiday might have taken on a whole new meaning if it was celebrated in the middle of summer instead of at the end of winter.