Celebrate Leadville’s Irish History
March 14, 2022If you’re looking for St. Patrick’s Day fun in Leadville, Colorado, check out these happenings:
St. Patrick’s Day, Thursday, March 17
Ski Cooper: Spend the day skiing or riding Cooper’s slopes. Take a run through family friendly Leprechaun Lane, new this season! Can you find all six of the wooden shamrocks? They were made by Leadville local and Cooper board member Howard Tritz. For apres ski, toast St. Patrick’s Day at Katie O’Rourke’s Irish Pub!
Ski Cooper, Colorado
St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Come see this short but spirited parade. The Mount Massive pipe band will play festive Irish music. Join us again in September for our annual Practice St. Patrick’s Day Parade (pictured below), when the weather is a bit warmer!
4:30 p.m.
Harrison Avenue (the main street), Leadville
After the parade, say slainte at these celebrations:
Corned Beef and Cabbage at the Silver Dollar Saloon: Cooked and served by the Leadville Lions Club
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
315 Harrison Avenue, Leadville
Irish Red Ale at Two Mile Brewing Company: Raise a glass at America’s highest brewery
101 Harrison Avenue, Leadville
Live Music at the Golden Burro: Join Local Revelers Dean, Ryan, Lucas and James and the Oro City String Band
5 p.m.
710 Harrison Avenue, Leadville
Leadville’s Irish Miners
In the Silver Rush days of the late 1800s, Irish immigrants came to Leadville to work the mines. Historians estimate more than 3,000 Irish lived in Leadville during that time period, making them the largest ethnic group.
They set the basis for the labor movement in Colorado. They asked for a pay raise from $3 to $4 per day for the dangerous work they did underground. Many are buried in unmarked graves at Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery. Now, an effort is underway to honor them.
Coming Soon: Irish Miners Memorial
This fall, an Irish Miners Memorial is expected to be unveiled in the cemetery. To learn more, watch Embracing Our Heritage: Colorado’s Irish Miners Memorial. Speaker Jim Walsh shares fascinating history. He is an associate professor in the Political Science Department of Colorado University Denver specializing in labor and the Irish diaspora.
Irish Twin City
You can also read about the effort to make Leadville a sister city of Ireland’s Allihies, a copper mining community that many of Leadville’s Irish immigrants came from.
Free Online Program on Leadville’s Legendary Couples
The Irish Network of Colorado is also presenting a free program, “Leadville’s Legendary Couples – Love in the Cloud City,” on Zoom on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.
Be sure to join us to learn about and celebrate the luck of the Irish!
