St. Patrick's Day: Does El Paso have any Irish roots?
El Paso, Texas — El Paso does have it's share of Irish roots and you can find them in one of our most famous local landmarks, St. Patrick Cathedral in Central El Paso.
The Catholic faith is important to many El Pasoans of both Mexican and Irish heritage.
St. Patrick was known for bringing Christianity to Ireland more than 1500 years ago, in the 5th century.
In a 2018 article, El Paso Inc. reported that when the El Paso Catholic Diocese first began construction of the cathedral in 1914, it offered the first person to contribute $10,000 to its construction the opportunity to name the church after the saint of their choice. That person then chose a local Irish civic group called the "Daughters of Erin" to choose the name and they selected St. Patrick.
St. Patrick also happens to be the patron saint of engineers which connects to the cathedral's nearby neighbor, UTEP, which got its start as an engineering school also in 1914.
The man who's arguably El Paso's most famous resident, former congressman, presidential candidate and the current Democratic nominee for Texas Governor, Beto O'Rourke also has Irish roots.
Irish Central reported in 2019 that O'Rourke's great-great grandfather, Bernard O'Rourke, was an Irish immigrant who lived in Nebraska and part of his family then moved to El Paso.
The funeral for Beto's father, former El Paso County Judge, Pat O'Rourke, took place at St. Patrick Cathedral in the summer of 2001.