A Banner Day for the Gaelic-American Club

Every night, for the past three weeks, Fairfielder Doreen O'Connell has come home from work and hunkered down to cut, sew and create her latest masterpiece: a nine-foot by 10-foot banner for the Gaelic-American Club.

"It was my husband's idea," she said. "He mentioned to the executive board that I could do it, and they told me to go ahead." Doreen had previously crafted two banners for The Friends of Irish Freedom in New York.

O'Connell said she has been sewing her whole life. Her grandmother taught her how to sew, and she won a Home Economics award in middle school. For high school graduation, Doreen's parents bought her a sewing machine and she's been crafting ever since then.

"We were talking about getting a new banner for the club for two years," said her husband, Pat O'Connell, who was last year's president of the cultural organization at 74 Beach Road in Fairfield. "The old one was looking kind of raggedy."

"For this banner, there was no design," said Doreen. "They said it was up to me."

Constructed of felt, braiding and pearls, the design features flags from the four provinces of Ireland (Ulster, Munster, Connacht and Leinster), as well as an American flag and a shamrock, and the date the club was founded - 1948. It will be used for local parades (including the Bridgeport St. Patrick's Day Parade), and when not in use, will be displayed on one of the walls at the club. The banner was unveiled Monday evening at the club and will be used in the Memorial Day Parade on May 31, accompanied by the Gaelic American Pipe Band.

While Doreen was focused on putting together the immense flag, Pat said he simply tried to stay out of the way. "A couple of times she ran out of material and sent me to the store," he said with a laugh. "The old banner lasted 15 years. This one will last a whole lot more."

"I love creating things," said Doreen. "Something you make yourself is just so different than anything you can get in the store."

For more information on the Gaelic-American Club, visit www.gaconline.org.