About Us

The John J. Ward Irish Music Archives, part of Irish Festivals Inc., is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit orginzation and is dedicated to the preservation of Irish and Irish-American music in all its forms. It is the year-round educational arm of Milwaukee Irish Fest.

Established in 1992, the Irish Music Archive houses the largest public collection of Irish music in America. It is named after John J. Ward Jr., father of Irish Fest founder Ed Ward. The archive currently consists of more than 40,000 Irish recordings and pieces of music memorabilia ranging from rare 78 rpm's, LP's and sheet music to song books, instruments, and concert memorabilia. Many of the archives items are extremely difficult to find today.

All music items donated to the Archives are catalogued and entered into a comprehensive computer database. The collection will be open to the general public, but items will not be removed from the archives.