The Burlington Irish Heritage Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary with an extraordinary series of cultural events running from February 29 to March 27. This year's lineup includes an address by the Consul General of Ireland, a lecture on the philosophical roots of Irish republicanism, a workshop on Irish-American genealogy, a dinner featuring food and drink of Irish mythology, and a dazzling array of music and dance for both performance and participation.
The Burlington Irish Heritage Festival was founded in 1995 by a couple of Irish American gentlemen who may have heard one too many stupid jokes about drunken Irishmen on St. Patrick’s’ Day. With no interest in dyeing the Winooski River green, nor any desire to go about town in ridiculous leprechaun hats, our co-founders sought to provide a cultural alternative.
Each year, the Festival focuses on Vermont's Irish heritage and associations. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Fenian Brotherhood’s attack on Canada. Liam McKone of the Fenian Historical Society will explain how this militant nationalist group gathered in St. Albans, preparing to strike ‘a blow for independence of their homeland from centuries of British misrule.’
Poetry, music and politics have always been close to the Irish heart. “Delanty’s Vermont and Ireland” will be shared by Cork-born Vermont resident Greg Delanty, a recipient of the Guggenheim award for poetry. “Irish Music in Vermont,” a musical lecture about the thriving traditional music scene in our state, will be presented by the founders of the Vermont School of Irish Traditional Music. Other rousing musical experiences will be offered by either locally-grown Irish-American groups such as O’hAnleigh and Fiddleheads, or the internationally-celebrated Altan, hosted from Ireland by Young Tradition Vermont. The thorny issue of Brexit and its implications for the USA-Irish transatlantic relationship will be addressed by Laoise Moore, the Consul General of Ireland for New England, at a ‘fireside chat’ in the intimate setting of Burlington’s public library.
For more information on these and many more opportunities to enjoy Irish culture and Heritage, visit the Festival’s website at www.burlingtonirishheritage.org or on facebook; or email [email protected].
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