Promoting Irish-American Culture
and Preserving Local Histories
Through Year-Round Programs

The 2022 Irish-American Crossroads Festival

2022 Scheduled Events


Saturday, March 5th. 1-3pm. Bridging the Divide with Writing & Art

Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco

Join us for an event exploring how writing/art can articulate divides and bridge a path towards connection. Award-winning short-story writer and novelist Ethel Rohan is the author of a novel and three collections of short stories, the most recent of which, In the Event of Contact, was awarded the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize and the Gold IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction, Europe. Rohan will be joined by Tess Taylor, a poet, essayist, critic, community activist and professor whose work, The Misremembered World, was chosen by Eavan Boland as the winner of The Poetry Society of America’s inaugural chapbook competition. In addition to her poetry, Taylor has spent 10 years as the poetry reviewer for NPR’s All Things Considered, writes editorials and book reviews for CNN and The New York Times, and is currently on the faculty of Ashland University.


Saturday, March 19th, 1pm. An Interview with Irish Author Claire Keegan

Join us for a reading and interview with award-winning novelist and short-story writer, Claire Keegan. Keegan’s debut short story collection, Antarctica, won the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year award. Her short story/novella, Foster, was the recipient of the 2009 Davy Byrne’s Irish Writing Award, while her newest publication, Small Things Like These, set in 1985, has been lauded as “her best work yet . . . a short, wrenching, thoroughly brilliant novel.”(Minneapolis Star Tribune) Join us by Zoom for a lively reading and interview by Margaret McPeake. Online via Zoom


Saturday, April 2nd, 9.30am. Irish Textiles: Reclaiming Heritages

We explore new territory as we look into the world of Irish wool, linen and more.  We will meet with Blatnaid Gallagher, secretary of the Galway Wool Co-op, who will speak to their work to reclaim the heritage of Irish grown wool for products made in Ireland.  We will also meet with Claire Keyes and Charlie Mallon of Mallon Ireland who are growing flax again in Tyrone, and Colm Sweeney, a handloom weaver of tapestries will also give us a window into his work in Donegal.  Online via Zoom


Saturday, April 9th, 1-3pm. The Bold And The Brave: Oral Histories of the Irish in the San Francisco Bay Area

Join us for this beloved annual event featuring participants in the Irish Oral History Archive of the San Francisco Bay Area.  This year, we are highlighting archive participants who will share experiences of emigration and community building in the 1980s/1990s, including former Irish Times writer and educator, Elgy Gillespie, former ILHS president, activist and community organizer, Pat Goggins, and novelist and educator Emer Martin. United Irish Cultural Center – St. Francis Room.


Saturday, April 16th, 2-5pm. Crossroads Salon

Private Residence, San Francisco

The Crossroads Salon is being hosted again at a gracious home in San Francisco!

Bring your creative work about Irish/Irish-American culture, history or experience to share at this warm and appreciative audience — live and in person! RSVP to margaret@irishamericancrossroads.org to secure a reservation. RSVPs will be limited and proof of vaccination is required to attend.


 Flynn Memorial Concert: Brian Conway. Saturday, April 30th, 9pm. The Plough & Stars.

Join us for a concert with Brian Conway, a leading exponent of the tastefully ornamented Sligo fiddling style made famous by the late Michael Coleman. Conway is the winner of two All-Ireland junior titles in 1973 and 1974, and the All-Ireland senior championship of 1986. Brian’s early studies were with his father Jim of Plumbridge, County Tyrone, and with Limerick born fiddler/teacher Martin Mulvihill, and was later taught by Martin Wynne and Andy McGann. Conway’s recordings include The Apple in Winter (1979), First Through the Gate (2002), A Tribute to Andy McGann (2007), Consider the Source (2008), and Pride of New York (2017).

Tickets: $25 available at Eventbrite and at the door.