Irish Immigrants Paul Ward and Ian Gould Speak About Living in Milwaukee

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Paul Ward and Ian Gould - G&W Irish Tours

Paul Ward and Ian Gould of G&W Irish Tours (2026).

America has always been a nation of newcomers. The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes nearly 1,500 distinct race and ethnic groups, each carrying its own traditions and stories. They all have helped shape the country's character. That is clearly evident in Milwaukee.

For Irish immigrants Paul Ward, 49, and Ian Gould, 55, Milwaukee became more than a place to live. It became home. Ward arrived in 1994 with his parents. Gould followed in 2001 with his wife, a Milwaukee native. Today, Ward works in the hospitality industry. Gould has built a career as a musician. Together they own and operate G&W Irish Tours, a thriving business that takes Americans through Ireland and recently parts of Europe.

“Our tours help break down the walls that American travelers sometimes put up,” Ward said. “Once they experience Ireland firsthand, they leave with a different understanding of the country and its people.”

The Irish story in Milwaukee began nearly two centuries ago. During the 1830s and 1840s, immigrants crossed the Atlantic searching for opportunity in a young city rising along the shores of Lake Michigan. Then came Ireland's Great Famine in 1845. Faced with starvation and eviction, thousands fled their homeland. Many found work in Wisconsin, digging canals, building railroads, and farming the land. By 1850, Irish immigrants made up nearly 15% of Milwaukee's population.

They were resilient people who quickly became woven into the fabric of civic life. They joined the police and fire departments and participated in public service. One of Milwaukee's earliest mayors, Hans Crocker, was born in Dublin.

Today, the Irish remain Wisconsin's third-largest ethnic group, and every August Milwaukee celebrates that enduring legacy with Irish Fest, the world's largest celebration of Celtic culture.

When I recently met Ward and Gould at a coffee shop in Bronzeville, the interview began before I could even say hello. They greeted me with a T-shirt emblazoned with the G&W Irish Tours logo. We laughed and shook hands. I soon found out both men were gifted with human irony and self-deprecation. We settled in to talk about Ireland, Milwaukee, and what it means to build a life between two homes.

Tell me about each of your backgrounds, where you grew up in Ireland, your parents, schools, and interests.

Gould: I was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We moved to Lisburn when I was 4. I grew up in a pretty rough time. Protestant and Catholic conflict. I remember a lot of chaos but also a lot of laughing. We kids were city rats. I left school at the age of 15 to go to work as a bricklayer and a mason, but I was also playing my music. I love music. Guitar is my instrument. I later went back to earn my high school degree. I then pursued a degree in Music Performance from the University of the Highlands and Islands in Perth, Scotland. I made money as a milkman, delivering door to door. But I ended up living life as a musician. I’ve played as far east as Moscow and as far west as San Francisco. I even played a solo performance for the President of Ireland and other dignitaries in 2012 in Dublin. Our band played all different kinds of music, but today, I play mostly Irish music, some original. 

So how did you end up in Wisconsin?

Gould: My band was recording at a studio in Spain, and I met a Wisconsin woman who was working at an international language school. We fell in love and lived in Barcelona, Belfast, and London, and we came to Milwaukee in 2001 where we got married. I became a U.S. citizen in 2016. We are still married and have two children, 22 and 18. 

Paul, what about your background and your ultimate journey to America?

Ward: I am from the Republic of Ireland in the south. I was born in County Clare. My young years I spent in Limerick City. I went to a Christian Brothers all-boys school. I stocked shelves at a grocery store, cut people’s lawns. In 1994, we moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin when I was 17, a few months short of my high school graduation. My father got a job there at Schneider Trucking. My introduction to America occurred at the airport. We were greeted by 30 people, the Wisconsin Shamrock Society, lovely people. A good first impression of the U.S. Six months later, I graduated from Green Bay Preble High School. 

What did you do after high school? 

Ward: For a year, I worked in hospitality and restaurants in Green Bay. Then, I spent five years at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, majored in graphic design and illustration. Graduated in 2001. Then, I went back to hospitality jobs. I started at the County Clare Irish Inn & Pub in Milwaukee’s lower east side. It felt like home to me. I started as a barback, then a bartender, then got into bar management. I created new systems for County Clare. I love the energy and vibes of a pub. I later began commuting to Kenosha for a while and was general manager of their pub and restaurant down there. When that was sold, I had to pivot. 

What did you do when you got back in Milwaukee?

Ward:  I worked for my friend Dan Katt at Good City Brewing on the East Side. I also worked for my friends Robb and Joe at Valentine Coffee Roasting. Along the way, I had two lovely children, now 17 and 13, but I never married. 

Ian, you are a professional musician. Your band, Gould & Jaeger, appear at venues in the Milwaukee area including Madison. Tell me about your musical background.

Gould: My partner, Lukus Jaeger, is a younger man, great singer, with an operatic background, and he’s a great fiddle player. We have played stages at Milwaukee Irish Fest, Cleveland Irish Fest, Michigan Irish Fest, Waterloo Irish Fest, Dubuque Hooley, and La Crosse. We perform at clubs, pubs and weddings. We mostly perform Irish songs. 

I find Irish music infectious, sad at times, but also joyous. Why do so many people like Irish music? 

Gould: Irish music is uplifting. In essence, Irish music is about unison singing, not a lot of harmony. It is very communal, and I think people feel that vibe. We also have these tragic ballads. They are about livin’, drinkin’, lovin’, dyin’, and fightin’ and not necessarily in that order. (laughing)

Ward: And anyone can join in. You can sing or bring your instrument. You know, everyone loves the underdog story, and that is the Irish people in a nutshell. The Irish have been stomped on and trodden, but we are hard workers. 

The Irish culture portrays such a range of emotions through music, literature, politics and community.

Gould: Growing up, we could make the darkest of jokes. Morose but with a smile. Then, there is the culture of drinking, of being tipsy. 

Ward: In most Irish towns, the pub was the center of everything. Rain or shine, we’d go to the pub.   

In America, the locally owned corner bar used to be the center of a neighborhood community or the small town. 

Ward: Absolutely, I get it. In Ireland, you’d have the pub and also the church for communal gathering, but I think the pub trumps the church because the pub is where you’d find the priest and the entire congregation. (laughing)

What does the church mean to Irish culture?

Ward: Until recently, the Irish people were underneath the Catholic influence. The Catholic church heavily influenced most of Ireland up until the middle of last century.    

Gould: Not as many people embrace the church anymore in Ireland, but they will still attend church because it’s communal and family. 

Paul, you recently wrote, and I quote: ‘Even after becoming a proud U.S. citizen, Ireland never left me. It stayed in the way I saw the world, in the stories I grew up with, and in the sense of identity I carried with me.’ Can you elaborate on that?

Ward: At first, I had a hard time assimilating into America. People kept asking me if I was happier in America than Ireland. I would say that I still missed home. But much of my career has been working in pubs, a way for me to stay connected to my Irish culture.  

You two are running a business together, G & W Irish Tours, Gould & Ward. Tell me more about your tours.

Gould: In 2019, I started doing those tours as part of my music gigs, but we were trying to do too much with the tours, too many stops.  Now, we stay for three nights at one hotel, three nights at a second hotel, and the last couple nights in Dublin. Slowly, we’ve built a community of travelers, some going with us more than once. This year, we are doing four separate tours, and we’ve branched out to more than Ireland including Scotland, continental Europe, Prague, Austria, Munich, Heidelberg and Trier, Germany, and Lucern, Switzerland.

Ward: For us, G&W Tours has always been about so much more than travel. It’s about bringing people together, creating lifelong friendships, and building a community that continues long after everyone returns home. Every person we meet becomes a part of that story, and after today, we’d like to think you’re now a part of that community as well, Tom.

Thank you. I will wear the T shirt. Milwaukee Irish Fest will be held August 13-16, at the Summerfest Grounds. Are you guys involved in Irish Fest?

Ward: I am the voice of the Irish Fest radio commercials, and also the overhead announcer heard throughout the festival grounds.

Gould: My band, Gould and Jaeger, will be performing at Irish Fest on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at The Village Pub Stage. I am also on the Celtic MKE Milwaukee Irish Fest Entertainment Committee. Paul and I will have our G&W Tours booth for people interested in our trips coming up in 2027. Irish Fest visitors can meet us, and we can tell them about our trips and our tour process. They can book a future tour.

What is the difference between living in the American culture versus the Irish culture?

Gould:  I think people are more spread out here in the U.S, and they struggle with the community concept. They might know a few neighbors but not the guy a few streets over.  Some people don’t even want to talk to their neighbors. Ireland is very neighborly, community oriented. 

Ward: In the U.S., people are more distant. You have to drive everywhere. In Ireland, you get in an elevator, ride a few floors, and by time you get out, the guy standing next to you is your best mate. Or you are in a public toilet, and you have a conversation with the next guy. 

Gould: Ireland is about friends and community. We learn so much from each other.  

Ward: Even on our G&W Irish Tours, we help break down the walls that our American travelers put up.

In America, there are so many different ethnic groups, and many tend to stay in their communities. 

Gould: There are even the racial barriers. 

Ward: That’s why I like Irish music and even Irish humor. It breaks down the barriers between the ethnic groups. Resonates with all cultures. It’s kind of like country music in America. 

What do each of you like most about America? And what do you think needs improvement?

Ward: When I think about America, what stands out most is opportunity. The idea that people from anywhere can come here, work hard, and build something meaningful. For example, I started out as an artist and then saw another opportunity in hospitality, and I took that path.

Gould: I like the open spaces, the long drives. I might drive 100 miles to play a show and then drive back that same night.

Ward: And the geographical differences. Compare southern California to Alaska, for example. There is so much land in America.