Article on the Clover Fire Company's 20th Anniversary Celebration of their festival "Irish Weekend at the Clover"

IRISH CULTURE IN AMERICA:
The Village Festival
Destination: Irish Weekend at the Clover
July 27th (4pm) to July 29th, 2007

By Loretta A. Murphy

One of the most charming parts of any trip to Ireland is exploring the many small villages and towns that make up the patchwork of Irish life. Ireland is a land of festivals and celebrations. There is no finer place than an Irish village to join in the fun.

The lure of the Irish culture beckons us to follow it to Ireland. Ah, and if we could only answer that call of the pipes whenever it summons us! But since an ocean lies between American and Irish shores, there is a closer solution for those who cannot journey there this summer.

Follow the pipes – and the shamrocks - down the rocky road to Irish Valley. At the end of your journey, you shall find a festival that rivals that in any Irish village. It is located in beautiful “County Schuylkill” at the foot of the picturesque Broad Mountain on the grounds of the historic Clover Fire Company. For those of you who love the trill of a tin whistle, the strains of an Irish ballad, homemade soda bread, and the excitement of traditional step dancing, you will have found paradise not so far from home.


IRISH VALLEY
(L.A. Murphy 2006)

Green grows round the Valley, round the Irish Valley
Hidden snug within the Valley ‘tis a bit of Ireland
When you go down to the Valley, down into the Irish Valley
Friendly faces smile a smile, greeting strangers as if friends

Sure, ‘tis there the sky is bluer, way down in Irish Valley
The soft lilt within their voices ‘tis almost like going home
When you go down to the Valley, down into the Irish Valley
‘Tis as if Erin's fair green isle sailed ‘cross the Atlantic’s foam

Music in the Valley, steppin' in the Valley
Dance the Siege of Ennis, threes and sevens in a reel
Deep down in the Valley, down in the Irish Valley
They say ‘tis almost Ireland’s misty fog and fertile field

When ye go down to the Valley, down into Irish Valley
Come a stranger though ye may, you’ll leave as an old friend
Green grows round the Valley, round the Irish Valley
Hidden snug down in the Valley ‘tis a bit of Ireland


Clover Fire Company’s “Irish Weekend”, as it is affectionately called, offers a host of wonderful Celtic musicians, Irish cultural activities, and family fun from Friday, July 27th at 4 pm until closing on Sunday evening, July 29th, 2007. Be prepared to have the time of your life. This will be Irish Weekend’s 20th Anniversary and the 150th Anniversary of the Valley’s famous St. Kieran’s Church. A few Irish surprises are bound to happen!

Clover’s Irish Weekend is one of the most musical Irish festivals around. It has been the launching pad for some great Irish acts, including the now well-known Philly based band, Blackthorne. This anniversary year celebration promises to be no different. The musical venue starts off on Friday afternoon with local favorites, The Molly Wogs, a father and son trio that is a real crowd pleaser. From time honored Irish favorites to their own originals, this act is hard to follow. But it will be – by the boisterous Ceann, who will bring down opening night house with their Gaelic charm and a barrel full of Yankee-Irish drinking music.

Saturday the music continues and so does the fun. Gates open at 1 pm. The Irish Balladeers, a talented group of Irish fellows, are the afternoon entertainment. Their Molly Maguire, rebel, mining and traditional songs will have the crowd calling out for more. Later, the neo-Celtic experience that is Birnam Wood takes the Clover stage with its own brand of Irish culture – AmeriCelt. AmeriCelt is a fusion of traditional Celtic and American folk rock. Prepare to be transported to a new musical experience.

In addition to the stage bands, the crowd will be entertained by two dynamic duos, The Breaker Boys and The Lowlander Highlanders. The Breaker Boys will bring you a taste of mining songs and humor with Stu on guitar and Tommy on banjo. The Lowlander Highlanders’ talents on the fiddle, the bodhran and a host of other Celtic instruments are nothing short of astounding. The Lowlander Highlanders will also provide a “Makin’ Music Tent” for kids, grownups and in-betweens who fancy striking up a tune of their own. Learn to play the bones or the spoons, try your hand at the fiddle or maybe just beat on a different drum.

The Cass Township AOH version of “Finnegans Wake” will stage an encore performance on Saturday between bands. This troupe of merry Irish actors - who remain nameless - will pay their respects to the infamous Tim Finnegan at an Irish wake you won’t want to miss. “Finnegans Wake” had the crowd – and a few actors as well - rolling in the grass during the 2006 Irish festival.

The final day of the Festival, Sunday, starts off at 11:30 am with the traditional parade as the local chapters of both the Men’s and Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians march to Mass to St. Kieran’s Church. The gates open at 12 Noon. Then it’s time to applaud one of the most talented Irish musicians on American shores as veteran Irish Weekend performer Charlie Zahm returns to County Schuylkill. Dubbed as one of strongest voices in the Celtic music world, Charlie will take the stage in a performance that mixes the old with the new. Charlie is a true balladeer.

All good things must come to an end. But as the afternoon wanes there’s still more to come. The festival could never end without an appearance by one of its all time favorite bands, The Irish Lads. A wee bit of Irish Festival trivia here - The Irish Lads have played every Irish Weekend since its inception twenty years ago. If you haven’t yet heard these local Irish talents, you are in for a treat. Join the Lads in their raucous brand of musical fun as you stamp your feet and sing along with the old traditional as well as the rebel-rousing tunes.

So far we’ve focused on the wonderful music that is so much a part of Irish Weekend. Yet there is more to Irish Weekend than the music. Though an integral part of the festival – it isn’t everything.

Irish Weekend is about all aspects of Irish culture from food to family. A wide assortment of food vendors provide Irish comfort foods, including hearty Irish stew, the world famous Clover Irish potato pancakes (we refer to them as Irish bleenies), soda bread, scones, and colcannon – a mixture of cabbage, onions, turnips, mashed potatoes and (naturally) love. Not into Irish soul food? There are plenty of down home American delights to fill you up, ranging from pizza and burgers to French fries and ice cream. And don’t forget breakfast at the Clover Fire Hall on Sunday before the AOH March to St. Kieran’s. It’s “All You Can Eat” and the best Irish breakfast this side of Donegal.

The emphasis on family events is undeniably heavy. Genealogy, Irish history and ceili dance lessons are Irish Weekend staples. County Schuylkill Ceili Dance Group and traditional Irish step dancers demonstrate the folk dances of Ireland. Campa na bhFiann, an historical Irish encampment, provides hands-on-demonstrations of medieval Irish weapons and armor, talks about illuminated manuscripts and performs household crafts. The demonstrators are attired in 16th century clothing and accompanied by their mighty Irish wolfhound.

A sense of clan pervades the beautiful festival grounds. Set in the lovely Irish valley, the Clover Fire Company grounds has been home to Irish Weekend for 20 years. The Clover Fire Company is a bit of a family affair itself. One of the many ethnic fire companies that populate Schuylkill County, the little but mighty Clover Company has kept its Valley safe from fires since 1936. With its volunteer fire fighters dwindling and facing financial obstacles, the Clover main annual fundraising activity is Irish weekend. The men and women of the Clover Fire Company and their families spend all year long preparing and planning for Irish Weekend.

Irish Weekend is a group endeavor, a culmination of effort by local volunteers who believe strongly in their community. Many hands make light work. The Callaghans are one of the many families who make the work lighter by supporting the festival annually. One of the family sons, Joe Callaghan, was Chairman of the Clover Fire Company Irish Festival for twelve years. Described by his kin as a man whose life was devoted to his family, his church, his community, and to his Irish heritage, he spent endless hours promoting the Irish culture through not only the festival, but by bringing notable Irish performers into Schuylkill County, sponsoring Ceili dances, and smoothing the way for the popular Irish radio show The Orange and the Green.

After his untimely death in 2000, his family and friends formed a fund to help Joe’s memory and good works live on. The Joe Callaghan Irish Cultural Memorial Fund’s mission is to carry on Joe’s efforts by ensuring the continuation of the knowledge and enjoyment of Irish culture. The fund provides the opportunity of studying and promoting Irish culture to those who would otherwise be financially unable to do so. Since 2001, it has awarded financial stipends to men, women and children for all types of educational and artistic endeavors, from dance to literature to academic studies. One of the highlights of the Irish Weekend is the announcement of the new recipients of the Award.

In addition to the numerous entertainment venues, games are available for the children and a host of vendors are on hand selling wares that include Irish jewelry, clothing, books, music, crafts and gifts. You don’t need to be Irish to enjoy all that Irish Weekend has to offer. There is fun enough for everyone.

Finally, there is one thing more – something more important than the music and the plethora of cultural activities. Being Irish means many things, but at the heart of Irish life is family. Clover’s Irish Weekend is about the coming together of clan. As you watch the faces of the crowd, young and old alike, enjoying the festival surrounded by the beauty of the rolling Pennsylvanian hills and valleys on that last weekend in July, one thing will surely strike you.

Look closely at the faces. They are strong, healthy faces. They are faces belonging to those whose forefathers and mothers came here on ships from far across the sea to find a better life. Not all of them were Irish, of course, for County Schuylkill – like Ireland – accepted those who came for citizenship with open arms. They came as Irish, or Polish, or Italian, or Lithuanian, or Welsh but then they became part of a new and stronger nation. They became Americans.

Still, it cannot be forgotten that it was the Irish who came in the greatest masses, leaving behind their beloved homeland during the horrific famine years, from 1840 through the 1900’s, when Ireland lost over half her population. They came - the young, the old, the poor, and the downtrodden - not knowing where they would settle or what trials they would face when they got there. They came with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs, their wits, a hope and a dream.

Look closely at the faces around you one more time. Do you see it now?

It is there in the smiles and the expressions of the crowd as they listen to the music and clap their hands, raise their voices in songs, and finally, as the night ends, stand proudly – shoulder-to-shoulder, arm in arm – in salute to both the Irish and American National Anthems.

It is pride you see in their faces – pride in their ethnic roots and pride in the lives they have made.

Join us at Clover’s Irish Weekend this July 27-29th and experience the pride for yourself.

Village of Heckscherville
8 Clover Road
Pottsville PA 17901
Located East of
I-81 Exit 119
(Highridge Road)
4 miles West of Minersville
on State Rte 4002

WATCH FOR THE SIGNS AND FOLLOW THE SHAMROCKS!!!

Admission:
Friday night – Freeadmission!!!Saturday and Sunday - $4/under 18 Free

http://users.losch.net/~ccc1/irish.html

Directions: Follow the shamrocks – literally – but first…

From I-81
Exit 119 Highridge Road East to SR 4002,
turn right at stop sign bottom of mountain

From I-80
Take I-81 South, follow I-81 directions

From RTE. 209 South
At Nesquehoning take Rte 54 to I-81 South

From Morgantown (I-76)
Take 176 North to Rte. 422 towards Reading
Rte. 222 North to Rte 183 North

From N.E. Ext. PA Turnpike (I-476)
Lehigh Valley Exit #56 to I-78 West

FROM I-78
TAKE EXIT 19 Rte. 183 NORTH
From RTE. 183 North
At Cressona take 901 West to Minersville

From RTE. 61 (Pottsville)
Take Rte. 209 South to 901 West towards Minersville
RTE. 901 West (in Minersville)
At 3rd light turn right onto Front Street
Straight SR. 4002 (Valley Road) and Hechscherville
RTE. 54 East

At Danville take Rte. 901 East -1 mile after I-81
intersection turn left onto SR. 4002