The Irish Castle (Robert C. Givens House)
Now Beverly Unitarian Church
10244 South Longwood Drive, Chicago, IL
Built 1886-87
The Irish Castle, a Romanesque Revival- style residence, was built by real estate developer Robert C. Givins atop of the Blue Island Ridge at 103rd Street. Costing $80,000 due to the cost of hauling limestone by oxcart from Joliet, this is one of the most substantially constructed homes in Beverly’s historic district. Local lore pinpoints its inspiration to a castle Givens visited on a trip to Ireland that was along the River Dee between Belfast and Ireland. Some believe it is modeled after Bellingham Castle in County Louth. He brought the sketches back, and had a replica built on the Ridge in 1886-87 .
Mount Olivet Cemetery
2901 W. 111th Street, Chicago, IL
Opened in 1885
Mount Olivet Cemetery was the first Catholic diocesan cemetery to serve Chicago’s southland. Established in 1885, the burial ground is one of the city’s most picturesque and was once located outside of the city limits. Catholics in Chicago were immigrants, and not surprisingly, city cemeteries reflect ethnicity. While there were German and Polish National cemeteries, the Irish tend to be buried in diocesan cemeteries. Mount Olivet Cemetery buried mainly Irish, reflected in its family plots and monuments of Celtic crosses and Irish names. A statue of St. Patrick is also found amongst the graves.
Irish Nationalists of Chicago Obelisk
Mount Olivet Cemetery
2901 W. 111th Street, Chicago, IL
Dedicated September 30, 1888
Rising 81 feet above Mount Olivet Cemetery is the first monument in America erected by the Irish Nationalists Society. In 1888, this Egyptian obelisk of Barry gray granite features a seven foot pedestal and a four foot die. At each angle of the die are four Corinthian columns The obelisk was erected in honor of those Irish patriot heroes who died in Chicago, yet had no family in their new country. The face of the monument reads:
“Erected August 20, 1888 to the memory of departed brethren. God Save Ireland.”
Ancient Order of Hibernians Monument
Mount Olivet Cemetery
2901 W. 111th Street
Dedicated September 5, 1897
John moore, sculptor
Sculpted by John Moore, this late 19th-century monument was erected at the highest point in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (A. O. H.), our nation’s oldest Irish Catholic fraternal organization, commissioned a tower of rough hewn Vermont granite on a marble base that rises 40 feet. Irish symbolism such as the harp, Celtic Cross, and a wolfhound adorn the monument created to memorialize brethren who died destitute or without family. The monument cost $1850 to construct, and its dedication was attended by over 15,000 people in 1897.
10900 blocks of Washtenaw and Talman.
The parade was the vision of two south siders George Hendry and Pat Coakley. Remembering their experiences with the Southtown Parade that ceased in 1960, on a rainy Saturday, March 17, 1979, George and Pat and their wives Mary and Marianne (Mernie), gathered 17 children from the West Morgan Park community to march in the first South Side Irish St. Pat’s Parade. The parade’s original float, a baby buggy covered with a box decorated with shamrocks and the 26 county flags of Ireland, was pushed around the 10900 blocks of Washtenaw and Talman. The children were given the moniker “The Wee Folks of Washtenaw and Talman.” They brought back the South Side parade they had cherished as children. On Sunday, March 15, 1981 the parade would march down Western Ave. from 103rd to 115th Streets where it continues to march today. Each year a Grand Marshall is chosen and the parade designates a charitable organization as a Special Honoree, The parade has grown from 17 children marching around the block many years ago to an event that hosts over 15,000 marchers and 250,000+ spectators each year. Today, the South Side Irish Parade is considered one of the largest community celebrations outside of Ireland. The original baby buggy is no longer in the parade and has been replaced.