Best of Irish Culture Celebrated At Monmouth Park

With the weather channel predicting a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms, there was one thing mother nature wasn’t counting on -- the luck of the Irish.

On Sunday, June 12,  hosted the 41^st Annual New Jersey Irish Festival 2011.

The General Chairman for the event was John Carr. Co-chairs were Marni McFadden-Lee and Conor Lynch, this event even had the park turn the water green in their fountain.

Upon walking around, the first thing that hit you was all of the food vendors present. Shepherd’s Pie, Fish & Chips, Corn Dogs and Bangers & Mash were some of the items being offered. Of course, your usual festival snacks were on hand, such as ice cream and kettle corn. Irish-related gifts were also available at the numerous vendor booths.

More importantly, there were vendors who were there to keep the Irish heritage alive. One such group was Daltai na Gaeilge. This not-for-profit organization was founded by Ethel Brogan, who missed the use of the Irish language after coming to America from Armagh. Therefore, volunteers for this organization offer others the chance to learn and speak the Irish language.

“O labhair an teanga Ghaeilge liom, A chuid mo chroi is a stor, An teanga a leabhair mo mhathair liom, In Eirinn ghlas fado.” In other words: “Oh, speak the Irish language with me, Treasure of my heart, The language my mother spoke to me, In green Ireland long ago.” 

Also keeping the heritage alive was the author of “Mulligan’s Journey,” Caren B. Duke. Her father and illustrator William G. Mulligan joined her at the festival to help promote the book. Duke also assisted with the illustrations.

While the Willie Lynch Band played a more traditional form of Irish music, The McManus Band added a slightly heavier sound. This was thanks to Ralph Venezia’s melodic distortion involved in his guitar playing. Fiddle player and vocalist Grace McManus was tossing promotional Frisbees out into the crowd between songs.

With entertainment happening at both ends of the festival area, the cutest group had to be The Patricia Murphy School Of Irish Dance. This was especially true when the youngest group went out to perform.

With all of this going on, a big question arose! Where were the bagpipes? It didn’t take long to figure out that they were hanging out at the picnic area. This is where they staged themselves and practiced before they marched into performance mode.

Ed Brett, the Drum Major for the Rampant Lion Pipe Band, has been playing since he was 8 years old. His daughter Leslie was filling in today on bass drum. She has been playing for 9 years. Adrienne Ostrander was about to experience her very first competition.

Based out of Basking Ridge, the Rampant Lion Pipe Band rehearse at the Lions’ VA Hospital. Once the call came to get ready, Ed Brett came to attention and he went into serious mode.

However, before this moment, I had to find out if it’s true that they don’t wear anything underneath their kilts. Brett explained that this rumor started because back in the day “the soldiers weren’t issued draws and they wouldn’t wear their own.”

Brett also relayed a Mardi Gras story involving a nun. Apparently the nun had the same question so she gave Brett an arm garter to put on his leg. Well, it seems that he had an entire group forming to see how high he could raise the garter for a peek.

All shenanigans aside, it was the smiles on the kids’ faces that told the story of this event. And parents still found time to place a few bets. With the thunderstorms holding off, it may be true that the Irish are blessed.