25 years and growing strong
J. Richard Gaffney was roped into presiding over the first Watertown Irish festival 25 years ago when he agreed to attend an organizational meeting.
"I just wanted to help out," Mr. Gaffney recalled telling his associates of Irish heritage who originated the idea of the festival and pegged him as its leader. "I didn't know anything about running a festival."
He does now. He never quit after that first meeting and he'll help oversee this year's 25th anniversary of the North Country Goes Green Irish Festival, which includes a Thursday night concert, officially opens Friday and runs through Sunday at Dulles State Office Building.
What began as a celebration of Irish culture and a fundraiser for Project Children has grown into a cultural event that not only celebrates Irish heritage but also benefits a host of groups.
Last year's festival raised more than $35,000, nearly $10,000 more than the year before. The festival has no administration fees.
"Everything that is raised is given away," said Mr. Gaffney, who has been chairman/president for all the festivals. "We wouldn't be able to do this without our sponsors."
"Many see this as the marquee cultural event for the north country," said festival entertainment chairman Sean M. Hennessey.
The festival literally attracts busloads of people.
"We usually get busloads of Canadians that come over," said Patricia "Patty" A. Strife, festival board member in charge of advertising and promotion.
Mr. Gaffney said the festival has been attracting at least 12,000 people for the past several years.
It is quite different from the festival's first year, Mr. Gaffney recalled.
The one-day event in 1986 was held on a Sunday, and besides a church service at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, it featured the Rutherford Family Band performing at the state office building.
"We had people standing on the street asking, 'Can you come?'" Mr. Gaffney said.
About the only green was from leftovers. "We used some decorative plants left over from the Watertown Blooms exhibit the day before," Mr. Gaffney said.
The festival now has about 15 committees, ranging from decorating to food. The committee members make sure the festival maintains a level of freshness by adding new things, some major, like last year's decision to extend the festival to four days, and some minor, like a decision this year to sell some new food items: shepherd's pie and bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes).
"You always have hopes, but I never thought we'd get to the point we are now," Mr. Gaffney said.
Mr. Gaffney has no plans to step down as president. He dropped by the Times' offices after a physical therapy session prescribed to recover from recent back surgery.
He went to therapy twice. "They told me today that I was done," Mr. Gaffney said. "The therapist told me there's no sense in me watching you exercise."
"Dick is not going to sit back and wait for something to get done," Mr. Hennessey said. "He makes things happen."
Mr. Gaffney said there's more to the festival's success than its entertainment, food and drink.
"It's a way for people to blow winter off their backs," Mr. Gaffney said. "They see people at the end of winter they haven't seen in months."
Traditions such as the Miss Ireland Pageant also keep people coming back. It's not a traditional pageant: Contestants, from Lewis, St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties, are judged on their knowledge of Irish history and culture. This year's pageant is at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner receives a $1,000 scholarship; the runner-up receives one for $750.
"They can prepare a speech or express their knowledge through a talent," Mrs. Strife said. "The pageant also allows the kids in the community to develop relationships among themselves. That's what the festival is all about."
Sixteen students from the Johnston School of Irish Dance will perform their award-winning dance, "Girona," at 3 p.m. Sunday in the auditorium.
The dance won first place last year at a regional mid-Atlantic competition in Philadelphia. Dance company owner Ann Johnston-Sullivan of Syracuse said the dancers also will reprise the dance in July at a national dance competition in Florida. At least 50 percent of the dancers have to be more than 13 years old for the contests. Mrs. Johnston-Sullivan said one dancer, Katie Honan, 28, Watertown, had to learn the dance in 12 days to replace another dancer who broke her foot.
"She saved the day," Mrs. Johnston-Sullivan said.
The interpretive dance tells the story of the Spanish ship Girona, which sank off the coast of Northern Ireland in 1588.
The festival was created to provide financial support for Project Children North, which brings Catholic and Protestant children from Northern Ireland to Northern New York for four weeks during the summer and gives them a break from sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Over the festival's history, nearly 500 children have visited the north country, according to Patrick J. Keogh, coordinator for Project Children North.
Mr. Keogh said the local chapter has been active for 28 years. But he said with less violence in Northern Ireland, fewer children have been coming over.
"It's a great sign," Mr. Keogh said. "If they improve further, we'll be out of business."
Other groups that benefit from festival proceeds last year and this year are the Children's Home of Jefferson County, Fish Island Partners in Dexter, academic and vocational scholarships, YMCA, Neighbors of Watertown, Johnston School of Irish Dance, the Wounded Warrior program and Watertown Urban Mission. Mr. Gaffney said the festival often donates to various other causes as need arises.
