Irish Heritage Festival in Adams Village, Dorchester, Celebrates Boston's Irish Heritage

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Boston – The first annual Irish Heritage Festival (IHF) in Adams Corner, Dorchester takes place on Sunday, October 11, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The festival is being organized by local Irish and Irish-Americans along with local businesses, as a way of celebrating the history and culture of Boston’s large Irish community.

Irish step dancing, set dancing, and Gaelic sports are being showcased at the festival, alongside activities for children and families, along with some of the area’s finest traditional Irish musicians.

“The entertainment line-up includes: Robbie O’Connell, Aoife Clancy, Larry Reynolds, The Harney Set Dancers, Erin’s Melody, Celtic Cougars and growing by the day,” says committee member Mairin Keady, who is herself a noted Gaelic singer. Joshua Tree, a U2 cover band, also performs, as well as singer Pauline Wells of Milton.

This festival is dedicated to the memory of Michael Joyce, a native of Connemara, County Galway, Ireland who lived in Dorchester and worked at the Massachusetts State House, where he helped many Irish and other immigrants. Plans are underway to create a permanent memorial to Michael Joyce in the city of Boston.

The beneficiary of this year’s festival is St. Brendan’s School in Dorchester.

Adams Village in Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood, has long had an Irish flavor, thanks to generations of Irish immigrants who have settled there throughout the 20th century. The village is surrounded by four parish churches originally built for Dorchester's large Irish community: St. Brendan's, St. Gregory's, St. Mark's and St. Ann's.

One of the famous landmarks in Adams Village is the Eire Pub at 795 Adams Street, run by the Stenson family. Ronald Reagan visited the Eire Pub in 1983 when he was running for re-election as President of the United States. And in 1992, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn took presidential candidate Bill Clinton to the Eire Pub for a pint during the presidential campaign.

For more details on the Irish Heritage Festival, visit irishheritagefestival.com/

Boston's Irish Emigrant Newspaper issued a special edition this week with full details on the festival schedule and directions.

For information on Irish activities throughout Massachusetts year round, visit irishmassachusetts.com/

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