About Us
For over fifty years, St. Louis Irish Arts (SLIA) has been preserving and promoting Irish
culture in St. Louis, Missouri. From its humble beginnings in the basement of Helen and PJ
Gannon’s home, the school has grown and prospered and it is now one of the most successful
Irish music and dance schools in North America. More than 4,000 students have passed through the doors of St. Louis Irish Arts.
SLIA is unique in the fact that it offers students an exceptionally well-rounded education in
Irish culture. All students learn to dance and how to play an instrument, whereas most schools
teach either dancing or music but not both. Students are also exposed to various other aspects
of Irish culture including the Irish language, native customs, Irish history, Gaelic games,
literary arts and film, Irish cuisine and Irish crafts.
Children are taught to learn music by ear, not by notation. This is how Irish music, songs and stories have been passed down for generations and St. Louis Irish Arts has carried on this tradition of passing along the arts orally. The ethos of the school has always been to instill a love of the music, song and dance in the child. If a child sees how much fun it can be, then he or she will have confidence in themselves and will learn to grow to love the music.
Unlike many US cities, St. Louis does not have a large population of first-generation Irish
immigrants. Consequently, many of the students at SLIA have little or no Irish blood. Enrollment in the school is not dependent on Irish heritage!
Contact info@slia.org with any questions you may have.
Comhaltas & SLIA
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann or Comhaltas (pronounced "Coal-tas") for short, is an Irish organization dedicated to the promotion of the Irish Arts. They pride themselves on the preservation and promotion of the Irish culture and St. Louis Irish Arts is proud to be one of the biggest Comhaltas branches in the United States.We ask that each of our families join Comhaltas when you join us. Your membership helps Comhaltas to further promote and preserve the Irish arts. Comhaltas sponsors many events throughout the year and they do a lot of work to archive Irish tunes and stories. For more information on this great organization, please see comhaltas.ie/about
Our Comhaltas Board Members at St. Louis Irish Arts are:
| Chairperson: | Helen Gannon |
| Vice-Chairperson: | Pam Zykan |
| Secretary: | Cathy Thompson |
| Treasurer: | Lee Smulczenski |
| Public Relations: | Matt Hathaway |
| Auditor: | Adam Moore |
| Irish Officer: | Eileen Gannon |
| Youth Officer: | Lucy Cavanaugh |