If you're a Vermonter of Irish descent, you are among good company— and definitely not alone. According to the most recent census, about 16 percent of Vermonters claim Irish descent. Percentage-wise, this makes Vermont the third-highest state behind New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Historian Vincent Feeney, author of Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont, said that Irish immigration to Vermont "boomed" in the late 1840s to 1850s. The Great Famine in Ireland caused a migration of people looking for work and Feeney described Vermont as going through a "mini-Industrial Revolution."
"Vermont was still essentially an agricultural state, but there were certain boom town," he said. Towns with industrial work, such as St. Albans, Burlington, Winooski, Rutland, Bennington and Brattleboro all became centers of Irish population in Vermont.
Many of the Irish immigrants who came to Vermont did so through Canada.
"It was less expensive for them to take a ship out of Ireland, to go to one of the Canadian provinces than it was to go to the United States," Feeney said.
Evidence of Vermont's Irish immigrant communities can be found in many of the road names across the state. Feeney said oftentimes these were less desirable, such as a hillside that was hard to farm, because it was inexpensive to buy.
"There's a road outside of Montpelier up by Berlin Pond that people not might know called Irish Hill Road." Feeney said that community seems to have been settled by Scots-Irish people who came from Northern Ireland with a Scottish background.
In 1995, Feeney co-founded the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival, which concluded this past Sunday with a Festival Ceili. One of the reasons the festival began was minimize the focus on drinking around St. Patrick's Day.
"We wanted to emphasize the culture, and that is what it has become, a week of cultural activities," he said, citing dancing, lectures and a genealogy class.
For those looking for a bite this St. Patrick's Day, Seven Days food writer Jordan Barry provided some suggestions for those craving a hearty Irish meal.
"One of my favorite Irish pubs in the state is McGrath's, which is at the Inn at Long Trail in Killington," she said. "It's a big layover spot for through hikers. It's right off the trail, right at the top of the mountain." Barry also gave a shout out to PK's Irish Pub in Bellows Falls for their 10 am brunch.
Barry said Burt's Irish Pub in Stowe moved this past summer to Mountain Road. While it has classic Irish food, owner Janet Martinez also makes dishes that reflect her Colombian heritage.
"So, if you're not feeling a Reuben today, get a beef and potato empanada," Barry said.
Barry said she's excited to try a spice bag, a more modern invention that's popular in Ireland and inspired by Chinese cuisine, which May Day in Burlington is serving for St. Patrick's Day.
"This is French fries, which they would call chips, topped with tiny pieces of salt and pepper fried chicken, peppers and onions, served in a paper bag with a side of curry sauce."
Broadcast live on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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