Irish Festival Comes to Rockaway This Weekend!

 Irish Festival Comes to Rockaway This Weekend!

By Katie McFadden

It’s not typical to hear Irish music and bagpipes and see Irish dancers in June, but there’s never a bad time to celebrate Irish culture in the Irish Riviera. The 12th Annual Rockaway Beach/ Breezy Point Irish Festival, presented by Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 21, is this Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8.

For two days, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., all are welcome to the lot at St. Camillus on Beach 100th and Shore Front Parkway for a weekend full of Irish music, dance, vendors, food, drinks and more. This year, the music lineup for both days is not one to be missed!

Shipping up from Boston, Sláinte kicks it all off on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. At 2:30 p.m., the Breezy Point Pipes and Drums band brings the bagpipes to Rockaway, followed by the O’Malley Irish Dance Academy showing off some jigs and reels at 3 p.m. Then, starting at 3:30 p.m., is a special treat as Joe Hurley is back with his All-Star Irish Rock Revue. Joe Hurley’s band features Jon Spurney, Kenny Margolis, Mark Bosch, Sean Seymour, Chis Nappi and Julia Hoffman. Joe Hurley himself has played with Keith Richards. Spurney has toured with Elton John and David Byrne, and Hoffman, a violinist who starred in hit Broadway show “Once: The Musical,” will be making her Revue debut. They’ll also be joined by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd from Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the Bogmen’s Billy Campion and Billy Ryan, some Rockaway legends and more. They’ll be performing hits from Thin Lizzy, Pogues, U2, Sinead, Rory Gallagher, Dubliners and more through 6:30 p.m. And at 7 p.m., the popular favorite Shilelagh Law closes out the show.

On Sunday, The Irish Mutts, featuring Bobby Butler and Danny Mulvanerty of Indaculture, plus John Bernstein, kick off the day at 12:30 p.m. Then, hailing all the way from Dublin, Ireland, the Screaming Orphans make their much-anticipated return at 3 p.m. Coming from Canada, Celtic band The Devil’s Brigade makes their return at 5 p.m. And closing out the show, back from Massachusetts, will be The Gobshites at 7 p.m. “They’re all phenomenal bands, so to be able to get them and have them for the festival is fantastic,” AOH Div. 21 Irish Fest chairman John Moroney said.

While the bands play, kids are welcome to join in and dance, or enjoy one of the many children’s activities. There will be bouncy houses and face painting for the kids. Parents, bring those wallets as the beer tent will be stocked and several vendors will be selling Irish goods, local goods and more. Plus, there will be food vendors, including a new vendor selling smoothies and crepes for those with a sweet tooth.

Attendees get access to all of that for the low price of $15 to enter. Plus, kids 12 and under are free! There will also be event t-shirts for sale and 50/50 raffles for $20, three for $50 or seven for $100, for a chance at ten $1,000 prizes and a grand jackpot prize.

It’s all to raise money for a good cause. After all, the festival falls in line with AOH’s motto of “Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity.” “We’ll be donating to various local charities like St. Camillus and the Knights of Columbus. It’s always been about raising money for charity and always will be,” Moroney said.

There is some uncertainty over the future of the festival in the wake of the news of St. Camillus closing by the end of the year, which has hosted the AOH Div. 21 Irish Fest since its inception in 2013. “There’s a lot of uncertainty as to what the Diocese is doing with the property, including plans to sell it. I really hope that doesn’t happen,” Moroney said. “They’ve been fantastic. Father Richie, God rest his soul, was instrumental in seeing this go off every year without a hitch. Now we have Father James Rodriguez, who’s been very helpful and supportive in seeing this festival continue. Without their participation and permission to use the grounds, there would be no Irish Festival in Rockaway in terms of the amount of space we have. St. Camillus closing may be a hurdle we have to face in the future, but we can’t thank them enough.”

In the meantime, the show will go on. “We do this every year to promote Irish heritage and culture, to support the community and to give back to the community in terms of donations. It’s good to give back and to keep the Irish traditions alive,” Moroney said.

This year’s event is sponsored by Carlsberg and other local businesses. The festival is rain or shine. In the event of rain, there are covered tents for people to partake in the festivities and stay dry. Leave the coolers and chairs at home. For more information, see IrishFest21.com

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