On March 15, Supervisor Alan Wong announced the introduction of legislation expressing the City’s intent to establish an Irish Cultural District, recognizing the deep roots, traditions, and cultural contributions of the Irish community in San Francisco and the Sunset District.

The announcement was made during the Green Fest Block Party, a St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration held on 45th Avenue between Sloat Boulevard and Wawona Street. The free, family-friendly event featured live Irish music and dancing, children’s activities, food vendors and community booths. Green Fest was hosted by the United Irish Societies, Java Beach, United Irish Cultural Center and Cooley Keegan Comhaltas. This year also marks the 175th St. Patrick’s Day Parade in San Francisco, reflecting the deep and longstanding presence of the Irish community in the City.

Long before the Sunset District took shape as a neighborhood, the Irish were already woven into the fabric of San Francisco. They arrived during the Gold Rush era, many fleeing the devastation of the Great Famine in the 1840s and 1850s, and quickly became one of the City’s most significant communities. By 1870, they accounted for roughly one in eight San Franciscans and more than a fifth of its workforce. They faced real hostility, including anti-Catholic discrimination and barriers to employment and civic participation, but built through it, founding labor unions, staffing the City’s fire and police departments, and shaping its political institutions in ways that still echo today. By the early 20th century, Irish Catholic families had made the Sunset their own, giving the neighborhood much of the working-class, community-minded character it retains today.

If adopted, the legislation would begin the formal process of establishing an Irish Cultural District.

“The Irish community has played an important role in shaping San Francisco’s history and continues to be a vibrant part of the Sunset today,” said Supervisor Alan Wong. “This legislation recognizes the generations of families, community leaders, and cultural institutions that have helped build and sustain this neighborhood, while beginning the process of formally establishing an Irish Cultural District in the Sunset.”

Community leaders joined the announcement and reflected on the significance of recognizing Irish heritage in the neighborhood.

“The United Irish Cultural Center has served as a home for Irish culture and community for decades,” said Liam Reidy, Executive Director of the United Irish Cultural Center. “This legislation acknowledges the importance of preserving Irish traditions and sharing them with the broader San Francisco community.”

“The Irish community in San Francisco has always been built on strong connections between families, organizations, and neighborhoods,” said Hilda Kissane, president of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco. “This effort helps ensure those traditions remain visible and celebrated.”

“The Patrick J. Dowling Library preserves an important collection of Irish history and literature that reflects the community’s presence in San Francisco,” said Jennifer Drennan, librarian at the United Irish Cultural Center. “Recognizing the Irish Cultural District helps highlight those stories and encourages more people to explore this history.”

“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade has long celebrated Irish heritage in San Francisco,” said James Quinn, St. Patrick’s Day Parade director and board member of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco. “This effort recognizes the lasting impact of the Irish community and helps ensure those traditions continue for generations.”

“For many people, the Sunset has long felt like home for the Irish community,” said PJ Masterson, chair of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Planning Committee and Recording Secretary of the Board of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco. “This recognition honors the history, traditions, and sense of belonging that generations of Irish families have built here.”

San Francisco’s Cultural Districts program, established under Administrative Code Chapter 107, was created to preserve the cultural heritage of communities that have contributed to the city’s diversity and identity, and to support the cultural assets and institutions that sustain their living traditions. The proposed Sunset Irish Cultural District would support ongoing programming in traditional Irish music, dance, language, and Gaelic sports, traditions that are actively practiced and growing in the Sunset today, while ensuring that community memory and cultural institutions endure for future generations.