Chicago's Irish Fellowship Club is set to celebrate its 125th anniversary on September 17, throwing itself quite a party. The celebration is planned from 6 to 10 p.m. at Theater on the Lake, with former Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny expected to be on hand as the guest of honor and a fireworks show planned to close out the night.
A Night of Music, Food and a Grand Finale
Tickets for the anniversary bash are $175 per person and include an open bar, food and entertainment, according to the club's own event page on irishfellowshipclub.com. Organizers say Kenny, who once led Ireland's government, will “recognize this outstanding anniversary as our special guest,” per the same listing. The evening is planned to wrap with what the club calls a special fireworks show capping off the celebration over the lakefront.
The entertainment lineup leans heavily on Irish tradition. Guests are expected to hear Irish and contemporary music throughout the night, including a special appearance by the Shannon Rovers, the site notes. As reported by Patch, the bill also features Tom Gleason, the Chancey Brothers and Jimmy Moore, with the Shannon Rovers themselves marking their own 100th anniversary this year.
Roots Going Back to 1901
The club's story stretches back well over a century. It was established in 1901 by a group of Irish-American Chicagoans who wanted to strengthen their community and shape a more positive perception of the city's Irish population, according to the club's about page. That founding mission of fellowship and charity has carried through generations of gatherings meant to bring Chicago's Irish community together.
Patch's account of the club's history points to some notable brushes with power over the decades, including a 1910 gathering attended by President William Howard Taft. The club has also used its platform for philanthropy: by 2004, it had surpassed $1 million in grants and scholarship assistance, Patch reports, and its affiliated foundation has continued providing scholarships to Chicago-area students and support for Irish cultural organizations, according to Splash Magazine.
A Foundation Still Writing Checks
That charitable arm, the Irish Fellowship Educational & Cultural Foundation, remains an active 501(c)(3) organization based in Western Springs, Illinois, per philanthropy.org. Its most recent available filing is listed there. Among its disbursements that year was a $10,000 grant to the Young Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago Charities, according to the filing.
The planned September 17 milestone celebration reflects a description the club itself has offered of its long run in the city: for 125 years, it says, the organization has engaged Chicago's Irish community in “fun, fellowship and charitable activities.” The club's site also frames its annual gatherings as a way of uniting Chicago's Irish community and fostering both friendship and charity among its members, a mission organizers say the anniversary party at Theater on the Lake is designed to honor. WGN-TV's Spotlight Chicago highlighted the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago's upcoming 125th-anniversary celebration on September 17, 2026, before the event was scheduled to take place that evening.
