Villanova Launches ‘Irish America 250’
Posted by Jim on January 15, 2026
THE IRISH ECHO:
Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason.
Villanova Launches ‘Irish America 250’
News January 14, 2026 by Irish Echo Staff
The Society of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick, in conjunction with the Villanova University Center for Irish Studies, is formally launching “Irish America 250,” a national initiative recognizing 250 years of Irish contributions to the United States.
The launch is what is described as “a public 2026 kick-off event” on Wednesday, January 14
at the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts at Villanova University.
The event, said a release, marks the beginning of a year-long series of programs aligned with America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
“The kick-off will honor General Stephen Moylan, an Irish-born patriot, aide-de-camp to General George Washington, and the first president of the Society. Moylan is widely credited as the first person to use the phrase ‘United States of America’ in a written communication, in a January 2, 1776 letter during the Revolutionary War.”
The program will feature a historical presentation by Pádraig Higgins, PhD, and a fireside chat examining
Moylan’s legacy and the broader role of Irish immigrants and Irish Americans in the nation’s founding.
Guests at the event will include Irish Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason,
Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, President of Villanova University, and Kieran Moylan from
Cork, Kevin Meara, and Tom Lloyd, all descendants of General Stephen Moylan.