Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
March 14, 2001
Irish center scheduled to open next year
Former synagogue to become Irish Community Center
Denver's Irish community hopes to have a place to call home next year. The Irish Community Center, located in a former synagogue at 16th Avenue and Gaylord Street in Denver, is scheduled to open late 2002, a spokesman said.
Housed in the former Beth Ha Medrosh Hagodol Synagogue, the center is the idea of developer Jim Sullivan. Proud of his Irish heritage, Sullivan purchased the 81-year-old synagogue several years ago with the idea of creating a home for the Irish community. Sullivan donated the building to the Irish Community Center last year, after the organization achieved non-profit status.
The building has housed everything from jazzercise classes to raves to rodents in the years since its Jewish congregation relocated to another part of town. Renovations, which will preserve the building's history while transforming it into a home for Irish cultural events, are set to begin this year. The center is working to raise the $7 million needed to complete the renovations and get the center open by late 2002, organizers said.
The mission statement for the center reflects the goals of the project, organizers said: "The purpose of the Irish Community Center is to serve the cultural, social and educational interests of the regional Irish and Irish-American Community."
The center will include performance space for events ranging from theater and lectures to bagpipe shows, and will provide space for educational opportunities such as classes on Irish culture, language and history. Function space will be available for gala dinners and wedding receptions. The venue is planned to feature a research center for those seeking to explore their Irish roots. The center also is planned to serve as a central information source for Irish events and services, organizers said.
"The center will offer a home to local and regional Irish organizations and will be a focal point for the Irish community," said Karen Kennedy, executive director of the Irish Community Center.
The center's boards of trustees and directors include those of Irish descent, such as Governor Bill Owens and Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos.
The board of trustees also includes Jewish community leaders Larry Mizel and Steve Farber, who represent the building's Jewish history.
Encouraged by the fact that Irish-Americans rank third among ethnic populations in the state, and that an estimated 12 percent of the Denver community claims to be of Irish descent, according to the 1990 census, Kennedy said she is counting on those 500,000 people to help get the center off the ground.
Donations are accepted at the Irish Community Center office, 2401 East Second Avenue, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80206. Call the center at 303-320-9480.
