Skip to Content
Art & History

The origins of the St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon

March 17, 1983

Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill of Massachusetts hosted the first St. Patrick’s Day lunch. President Ronald W. Reagan and other House and Senate Members attended the event. The House arranged the festivities to ease tension between the two Irish-American leaders, who embodied distinctive conservative and liberal political persuasions. By excluding the press, O’Neill fostered the feel of an informal bipartisan celebration rather than a political summit. “I’m going to cook you some Boston corned beef and I’m going to have an Irish storyteller there,” O’Neill promised Reagan. “I’ll have to polish up some new Irish jokes,” the President quipped. The luncheon became an annual event on Capitol Hill for people of all political affiliations and ethnicities. It did not, however, mark the first celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at the Capitol. In 1884, Members donned green ribbons—distributed on the floor by Representative John O’Neill of Missouri—in honor of the Irish holiday.

Related Highlight Subjects

Cite this Highlight

Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=317, (December 08, 2010).

For Additional Information

Office of History and Preservation
(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov

Share this Page

Subscribe to E-mail Updates

Sign up for monthly e-mail updates on House art and history.

Privacy Policy >>

This card depicts the political battle over the federal budget in the early 1980s between Republican President Ronald W. Reagan (left) and the Democratically controlled House, led by Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill (right). Postcard, 1982, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

Teaching Tip

Wielding the Gavel
Ask students to locate three stories pertaining to Speakers of the House. Have students select and conduct research on one of the Speakers using historical highlights and the Biographical Directory bibliography.

Get More Tips & Resources >>


Office of the Clerk - U.S. Capitol, Room H154, Washington, DC 20515-6601 | (202) 225-7000

For general inquiries: info.clerkweb@mail.house.gov
For general technical support: techsupport.clerkweb@mail.house.gov
For HouseLive support: houselive@mail.house.gov