The Richard C. Sweetman Family Collection in Irish Studies in Honor of Richard S. & Evelyn O’Rourke Sweetman was established by Dick (’58), Kathy, and their three children: Kelly (’97), Erin, and Tom, to honor Dick’s parents, Richard S. and Evelyn O’Rourke Sweetman. Dick is chair and president of Spencer Quarries Inc. At Notre Dame, he is a member of the Ireland Advisory Council. 

Dick’s grandfather, Walter Sweetman, emigrated from Ireland to manage the Irish-American Colonization Company, an organization of farming communities established in Minnesota to provide a start for Irish immigrants. Generally referred to as the Sweetman Colonies, the venture was founded in 1880 by Walter’s cousin, John Sweetman.

The Sweetman Collection at the Hesburgh Libraries began with more than 470 volumes from Richard C. Sweetman’s home, Clohamon, in County Wexford, Ireland. The collection included four manuscript ledgers containing tenants’ accounts from the 1830s to the 1860s, as well as periodicals and books ranging from the 18th to the 19th centuries, including works of history, biography, literature, economics, agriculture, religion, and the sciences.

Dick and Kathy, members of the Badin Guild and Sorin Society, have also established the Clohamon Endowment for Excellence and the Richard C. Sweetman Family Endowment for Excellence in Irish Studies.