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1 of 8Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
2 of 8Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
3 of 8A band playing bagpipes during the St. Patrick Day Parade. Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
4 of 8A band playing bagpipes during the St. Patrick Day Parade. Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
5 of 8Caption from LIFE for a similar frame. Hannora and Kathleen Deely do the jig at a dance exhibition in San Francisco’s Union Square. The girls first learned folk dancing from their Irish-born father, later returned to the old country for three years’ study, now dance professionally.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
6 of 8Caption from LIFE for a similar frame. Hannora and Kathleen Deely do the jig at a dance exhibition in San Francisco’s Union Square. The girls first learned folk dancing from their Irish-born father, later returned to the old country for three years’ study, now dance professionally.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
7 of 8Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images -
8 of 8Outtake from “The Irish in America.” March 17, 1961 issue of LIFE.Photo colorization by Sanna Dullaway for TIME / original image: Robert W. Kelley—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
On St. Patrick’s Day in 1961, Irish Americans had much to celebrate. One of their own was in the White House. The culture of the Emerald Isle flourished in America, from the hurling field to the pipers’ band to the saloon, which LIFE magazine called the “nursery of democracy.” “No group,” LIFE wrote, “retains so boisterous a pride in its origins. A man four generations and 3,000 miles removed from the old sod may still say, ‘I’m Irish.'”
To recognize the accomplishments of the Irish in America, the magazine assigned photographer Robert W. Kelley to document the group’s impact on the nation for a special, two-part St. Patrick’s Day photo essay. Kelley trained his lens on sport and song, dance halls and pubs, capturing a cross-section of influence on culture and politics.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, TIME commissioned freelance photo editor Sanna Dullaway to colorize a short selection of Kelley’s images, bringing to life the photographs he made more than half a century ago.
Sanna Dullaway is a photo editor based in Sweden and the host of a new monthly column on TIME LightBox on colorized photography. See more of her work here.
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