The Academy of Irish Music of Chicago is part of a long and proud history of Irish and Celtic Music in Chicago that began in the late 1800s and has produced musicians renown in the world of traditional music. Not the least of which was Capt. Francis O'Neill, an Irish immigrant flute player who spent 60 years in Chicago collecting and publishing Irish dance tunes, including a collection of tunes known around the world as "The Book."

Chicago musicians such as O'Neill, James O'Neill, John McFadden, James Early, Father Fielding, Young Tom Ennis; and more recently Jimmy Neary, Johnny McGreevy, Eleanor Neary, Joe Shannon, Jimmy Keane, Martin Fahey, and Liz Carroll have been passing this tradition from hand to hand for over 125 years.

The Academy was formed to provide a teaching venue for the dozens of performing traditional musicians in Chicago and to defray the cost of teaching and the administrative duties required in advertising and promotiing the lessons.

Founder and dean of the Academy is Noel Rice, an Irish flute player who immigrated to America from Tullamore. He has been teaching traditional music to hundreds of young Chicago students since. He is a founder of both Francis O'Neill CCE branch in Chicago. Noel has been performing with the innovative Irish ensemble, Baal Tinne since 1985.

His students have consistently won honours at annual Fleidheanna and Feiseanna around the world.

The Academy offers private and group lessons at the Irish American Heritage Center and private lessons at Gaelic Park in Oak Lawn, IL.