The Keough Swift Collection was created in 2000 by the late Chairman Emeritus of the University’s Board of Trustees Donald R. Keough and his wife, Marilyn. Don retired from Coca-Cola in 1993 as president, chief operating officer, and director. Don was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University in 1985, and served as chair of Notre Dame's Ireland Advisory Council. In 1993, he was awarded the Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics.

Don and Marilyn created the University’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, an interdisciplinary project devoted to teaching and research in Irish culture, widely recognized as the top program of its kind in North America.

Marilyn joined her husband as the recipient of a Notre Dame honorary degree during the 1998 dedication ceremonies for the Keough-Naughton Notre Dame Centre in Dublin. There are three Keough library collections and two Keough professorships in Irish studies.

In addition to their passion for Irish studies, the Keoughs have supported the University in many other ways, including the creation of several mission professorships and their membership in the President’s Circle.

Thanks to the Keough Swift Collection, the Hesburgh Libraries have acquired a collection of books that attempts to reproduce the library once owned by Jonathan Swift. With more than 200 rare editions, most of which were printed in the 17th and 18th centuries, plus many secondary works on Swift, the library was compiled by noted Swift scholar Heinz J. Vienken. The collection enhances the Libraries’ already strong holdings of early editions by Swift and complements their outstanding collections on George Berkeley and Edmund Burke. Collectively, these resources place Notre Dame among the leading libraries in the field of 18th-century Irish writers.