The Irene O’Brien Ryan Library Collection in Fine Arts was established in 1975 by John T. Ryan Jr. to honor his wife, Irene O’Brien Ryan, who was fond of the arts.

John, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Harvard University, served Notre Dame as a Trustee and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1973. As president and then chairman and chief executive officer of the Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA), he was instrumental in developing MSA into an international company that became the world’s leading manufacturer of personal protective equipment and instrumentation. He passed away in 1995. Irene, an alumna of the drama school at Carnegie Mellon University, maintained an active interest in the University through the Summer Shakespeare Program until her death in 2004. Of the Ryan’s six children, four sons and one daughter are Notre Dame graduates.

The Irene O’Brien Ryan Endowment makes possible the acquisition of materials that support teaching and research within the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. This collection provides creative inspiration through its significant visual media resources encompassing the history of art and design.

The Ryan family also established the John T. “Jack” Ryan Professor of International Business Ethics and the Mary Irene Ryan Family Producing Artistic Director of the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival.