{"id":23567,"date":"2021-10-20T12:04:10","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T16:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=23567"},"modified":"2021-10-20T12:04:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T16:04:15","slug":"outabout-143","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=23567","title":{"rendered":"Out&About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Long Island Irish Fest\u00a0was held last Sunday\u00a0at Plattdeutsch Park in\u00a0Franklin Square <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Paddy McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a day I had at the Long Island Irish Fest<\/strong>\u00a0that was held on Sunday\u00a0at Plattdeutsch Park in\u00a0Franklin Square; what a blast it was. First of all, it was sponsored by The\u00a0Ancient Order of Hibernians of Nassau County<\/strong>.\u00a0The festival was a day\u00a0of Irish music and dancing, featuring some of the top international Irish\u00a0bands, like the great Andy Cooney<\/strong> and his\u00a0band, McLean Avenue<\/strong>, and the\u00a0Screaming Orphans<\/strong> and local acts such as Harper\u2019s Ferry<\/strong> and the Galway Boys<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Music legend Andy Cooney with Irish Examiner USA publisher Paddy McCarthy<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u00a0was replete with\u00a0traditional\u00a0Irish music, including a session area, dancers and pipe bands, as well as \u00a0headline acts. It\u2019s an Irish tradition that since it\u2019s a Sunday, Mass was celebrated\u00a0at 11 am before the\u00a0festival began. The day centers around Irish tradition and\u00a0the sponsors were looking to raise awareness of their culture and history. Along\u00a0with the Nassau County Feis<\/strong>, it was thought that\u00a0this festival will be the\u00a0ultimate compliment to their cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went there with an open mind as to how\u00a0this festival would proceed and let me tell it was one of the most professional\u00a0events\u00a0that I have been at for a long time. I have been involved with concerts\u00a0and festivals in Ireland and let me tell you, this one stands out at the top of the list\u00a0and I can see that it will go from strength to\u00a0strength. You know the old saying, build\u00a0it and they will come and boy did they come as there were a couple of thousand\u00a0people who turned up to enjoy a real Irish festival. To see all those\u00a0families\u00a0all enjoying themselves was a joy for me to watch and I can see this in the\u00a0future turning into a two-day event as it was just fabulous and the music was just\u00a0brilliant along with the\u00a0Irish step dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beautiful thing about this festival\u00a0was you get to meet and greet a lot of old friends and new friends that again\u00a0because of the pandemic you have not seen for a very\u00a0long time and that in itself was just wonderful. The most important part of it all was that the atmosphere\u00a0was electric and you could see and feel the happiness in the audience at\u00a0this\u00a0festival. All I can say right now is roll on 2022 and I am so sure the\u00a0planning is already started. So again, congratulations to everybody that was\u00a0involved specially all the volunteers, you all\u00a0did a great job!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Consul General Helena Nolan<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Irish Business Organization<\/strong> will welcome the new Consul General Helena Nolan<\/strong> to New York this Wednesday (October 20th) and I will be there as well. The new Consul General was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and joined Ireland\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs in 1990, after an initial 7 years in the Department of Education. Over the course of her career, Helena has held a wide number of roles at home and overseas, most recently serving as Ireland\u2019s Ambassador to Belgium and the Partnership for Peace Liaison Office (2017-2021). Prior to her appointment to this role, Helena served as Director for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in the Department\u2019s headquarters in Dublin and was a regular visitor to the UN here in New York. She has also served in London, Armagh, Kuala Lumpur and Dar Es Salaam, as well as working in the Departments of Education and Enterprise and the Office of Science and Technology. She took up duty as Consul General of Ireland in New York on August 26th.\u00a0Helena and her husband Sami have two sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here we have another huge event that just started, it\u2019s the Aisling Irish Community and Cultural Center\u2019s<\/strong> celebration of their 25th anniversary. They will be running a 6 Week to 6K Walk\/Run Challenge<\/strong> in partnership with Clann Health<\/strong>! It started on Monday, September 13th and they invite you to log on and join them from anywhere in the world for this fun and exciting health challenge. Once registered, you will be given expert training, guidance, and support to help you reach Week 6 successfully! All proceeds will support the redevelopment of the Aisling Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman of the New York Saint Patrick\u2019s Day Parade Hilary Beirne<\/strong> was there to give his full support.
Visit https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/aisling-irish-community-center-25-year-celebration-6-weeks-to-6k-event-tickets-159525225243?aff=AICC<\/a> for more details on how to participate and be sure to visit their website at www.aislingcenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See you all again when I\u2019m Out&About\u2026 <\/p>\n

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