About Us

A Curragh Launched
from a Distant Island
in Montana, USA

Why archive Irish images in Montana, USA?

Per capita and by historic origin, Butte, Montana, is the most Irish town in the United States of America -- a larger percentage of Butte residents claim Irish heritage than do those in Boston, New York, Baltimore, or San Francisco.

A central part of the late 19th-century Irish Diaspora, Butte and other newsprung towns of Montana drew Irish miners, stockmen, farmers, merchants, and families from the time of the territory's founding in the 1860s. Butte has close links to the Beara Peninsula of West Cork; to Roscommon and Marcus Daly's hometown of Ballyjamesduff; and to greater Dublin and Galway with vibrant cultural ties to Irish trad music and dance as celebrated in Butte's famous An Rí Rá, held every August.

Why photographs? The Montana Gael project started with a collection of stereoviews and RPPCs by Montana-Irish writer/artist Noelle Sullivan in 2008. In the decade since, the archive has grown to 15,000+ images of Ireland and Irish people, with a small library of Irish photography books and maps also available for research.

Future plans include research residencies and a searchable digital images site.

What We Collect and Keep

Original Photographs

15,000+ Irish photographic images, including glass plate negatives, slides, albumen prints, platinotypes, stereoviews, RPPCs, snapshots and more.

Historic Documents & Maps

Letters, receipts, and historic documents from Ireland's past, along with a small collection of maps of Ireland ranging from the mid-17th century to the present.