Irish library opens its doors in Arizona

A new library dedicated to educating and connecting the people of Arizona with Irish and Celtic cultures will open its doors to the public tomorrow morning (2 Oct).

The McClelland Irish Library, which is located in Phoenix, is the only library of its kind in western America.

It will house over 6,000 books from Irish authors and poets, plus periodicals, music, manuscripts, photographs, traveling exhibits, movies and genealogical research tools. 

There will also be a practice space for musicians.

Some 500,000 Arizonans claim Irish ancestry, making it the second largest ethnic group in the state.

The library is hoping to capitalise on this by positioning itself to become a leading Irish genealogical research centre.

One of its other goals is to establish an archive of personal papers and photographs documenting the role of Irish-Americans in Arizona and the southwest.

The project, which has been in the planning stages for almost five years, cost more than five million dollars to build and is a partnership between the city of Phoenix  and the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation .

The building in which it is housed was designed by architect Paul Ahern, who modelled it on the many Norman castles in Ireland. It is made up of 22 tonnes of Irish limestone.

The library will be open from Tuesday-Thursday throughout October and Tuesday-Saturday in November.