For more than a quarter-century, the West Suburban Irish (WSI) has brought joy to thousands of people in the western suburbs of Chicago through parades, charitable giving, cultural events, and more. The nonprofit is proud to be headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. WSI promotes, nurtures, and strengthens Irish culture in our area through a robust social network of members, volunteers, artists, and enthusiasts.
The motto of the West Suburban Irish is “Friendship, Fun, Service.”
This motto reflects both the Irish culture and their approach to fulfilling their mission. They strive to cultivate a genuine appreciation and understanding of Irish heritage, including the arts, language, and sports, by putting on events in their local communities.
Naperville St. Patrick’s Day Parade heads downtown March 9
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been around for over 30 years and will be held on Saturday, March 9, beginning at 10 AM in downtown Naperville. Naperville’s signature springtime event celebrates Irish heritage and culture and attracts over 3,000 participants and 15,000 spectators annually.
Families can enjoy Naperville Irish Fest at Central Park in September
West Suburban Irish will host its 4th annual Naperville Irish Fest on Sept. 20-21st at Central Park in downtown Naperville, right behind Quigley’s. The Fest will feature Irish music, Irish dancers, and bagpipers. The Fest is family-friendly, with many activities for the kids, including games, crafts, a bouncy house, and a parade led by St. Patrick. Irish food and goods and plenty of beer will be featured. There will also be a whiskey tasting during the fest.
West Suburban Irish upcoming events
In addition to their signature events, WSI also hosts Irish Sessions at Quigley’s on the third Wednesday of the month and Quigley’s Pub Trivia on the first Tuesday of the month. They will host an Irish Mass on March 11 at St. Thomas Church and fund the Nora Moran Marovich (the Noonies) Award for high school seniors. This past year, they also had a good old-fashioned pub crawl to Irish pubs in the Western Suburbs and a Christmas Party to collect Toys for Tots. All events are listed in their calendar.
You don’t have to be Irish to join WSI – they welcome anyone interested in learning about Irish culture or wanting to make new friends.
