Ireland’s Na Fianna
South Shore Irish Festival at Marshfield Fairgrounds is bringing some of the best musical talent that the Irish have to offer. Aside from 20 Boston and New England based Irish music combos, this South Shore event will feature Ireland’s own Johnny McEvoy and new band Na Fianna as well as Canada’s John McDermott, a member of the Irish Tenors. And that’s not bad for a first time event. The South Shore Irish Festival will run September 12 & September 13, 2015.
Festival organizer, Pat McDonough, said this first South Shore Irish Festival was created after he saw a need for an Irish festival on the South Shore. After meeting up with Marshfield’s former selectman and venue booking agent, John Hall, the two decided to research the possibilities.
“That’s how the ball started rolling,” McDonough said. “This is the first Irish Festival at the Marshfield Fairgrounds, in this capacity. It’s a large one. It’s a two day event, and we’re bringing in entertainment from Ireland as well as using 20 of the local bands from throughout Boston.” McDonough has heard every singe one of the acts live in the past.
“It got to the point it was so sought after that I had to close down offering space for bands that would love to be part of the event,” he said. “But there’s only so much space in the day. It was first come, first served.”
Na Fianna are a new band from Ireland who lean more toward Irish rock but they also play the traditional material like “Whiskey In The Jar,” “Black Velvet Band,” and Red Haired Mary.”
“They cover the gamut from traditional to U2,” McDonough said.
Canadian John McDermott, one of the Irish Tenors, didn’t start performing until he was in his 30s. “So that’s kind of special,” McDonough said.
Bands and singers were selected based on McDonough’s high standards for Irish music. Fortunately, McDonough has worked in the local music industry and had many acts to choose from.
“I know about eighty percent of all the Irish bands that play in Massachusetts,” he said. “The goal from day one was to have them all involved. We are very fortunate in Boston to have such great talent. It becomes a great event for them as well because it gives them a chance to all get together in one place. They love to perform, and it becomes a social event as well for the bands.”
Some of the Irish music presented will be new and much of the Irish music has been around for at least a century. Singing along to songs from the old country has long been apart of one’s Irish upbringing. Many connect with this music on a persona level.
“Anybody that has some type of Irish heritage has grown up with Irish music,” McDonough said. “One of the acts we have at the show is a gentleman named Johnny McEvoy. He’s really an Irish icon. He wrote more than 50 Irish songs. A lot of the local bands that are going to be there sing a lot of the Johnny McEvoy songs that he wrote. That’s the central part of our show is that one of the originators is going to be performing at the festival.”
Aside from the two musical acts from Ireland and one from Canada and the 20 local Irish bands, the South Shore event will also offer Irish food, Tiara, a group that traces peoples’ Irish roots, Irish Wolfhounds and Irish Setters, vendors selling Irish goods, Dunleavy Shaffer student step dancers, and Clydesdale hayrides.
Due to Boston/New England’s huge Irish population and their strong interest in their heritage, McDonough is expecting a huge turnout.
“The demographic in Boston is that there’s so many Irish people in the city,” he said. “So, this is our first year, and we’re looking to grow this. The two biggest Irish festivals in the United States are in Cleveland and Milwaukee where they have over a hundred thousand people that attend. We certainly know that we’re not going to (have that many) this year, but we hope that maybe three, four years down the road, we might be able to surpass those festivals.”
Irish eyes will surely be smiling in New England.
Saturday’s event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sunday’s event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Marshfield Fairgrounds, 140 Main Street, Marshfield, Massachusetts.
http://www.southshoreirishfestival.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SouthshoreIrishFestival?fref=ts
