The Irish Studies program at the University of Montana is an inter-disciplinary and inter-collegiate collaboration between the College of Humanities and Sciences and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. This collaboration supports an 18-credit minor that provides students with access to instruction, study and research in the fields of language, history, literature, film, drama, music and dance as well as the opportunity to participate in the preservation and promotion of the Irish language and culture.

A programmatic focus on the central role of the Irish language and Gaelic heritage in Ireland’s history and culture and on the role of the Irish American diaspora in the western settlement of North America makes this a unique course of study among Irish Studies programs in America. Foundational to expanding our knowledge and understanding of the Irish experience in the west is the Gathering, an oral history project designed to collect the history, lore and traditions of the Montana Irish.