Renowned
Musical Acts Eyed for 26th Annual Irish Festival
by Timothy W. Scee II
Special to Newzjunky.com
Published December 14, 2010
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Organizers of the
2011 North Country Goes Green Irish Festival are looking to help celebrate its twenty-sixth year with new renowned musical acts, including 100-year-old Irish act
McPeake, and High Kings, which features prominent Irish musicians.
“This is going to be huge for us,” festival
events coordinator, Sean M. Hennessey, said of the band he
described as “the sons of the godfathers of Irish
music.” One of the “sons,” Martin Furey, is from a
“well-known family of musical talent in Ireland,”
according to the band’s website.
Martin’s father, Finbar Furey,
entertained audiences during the 2008 North Country Goes
Green Irish Festival and also wrote music for Martin
Scorsese’s 2002 movie, Gangs of New York.
“It’s a compilation of a number of
different big name bands that have kids that are in this
group,” Hennessey said.
Searson, George Murphy, and Beautiful Day,
a U2 cover band, Hennessey said, are also being considered
for this year’s North Country Goes Green Irish Festival.
Part of this year’s festival promotion
will actually begin before the first of the year with the
Donegal Beard Growing Contest, sponsored by the
Sportsman’s Barbershop, 310 State St.
“It’s a fun-raiser, not a
fundraiser,” Hennessey said. Participants will grow an
almost “Amish beard,” as the events coordinator
described it, with facial hair grown down the side and
around the chin, not extending to the lip.
Participants who have proof their beards
were shaved from Jan. 1 to March 10 will be eligible for a
prize, depending on who’s beard wins “top prize.”
Festival committee members even launched
new Facebook page two weeks ago, “North Country Goes
Green Irish Festival,” which had a following of 467 as
of Tuesday.
“There’s no cost to us, for the
Facebook page, it’s free,” Hennessey said. “It’s a
great way for us to reach out to people in the community,
younger people in the community, older people in the
community, a lot of people looking for different things on
Facebook.”
He continued, “It’s a great way for us
to touch people on a daily basis without really impacting
us financially.”
The event, which also features traditional Irish food,
step dancing and
vendors, will run Thursday, March 10, through Sunday,
March 13, at the Dulles State Office Building, 317
Washington St.
Funds raised from the festival help support Project
Children, a program which brings children from Northern
Ireland to Northern New York for several weeks during the
summer.
Mr. Hennessey begins hosting his weekly
"Echoes of Ireland" radio show
on Sunday, Jan. 2,
on WATN 1240-AM.
Martin’s father, Finbar Furey,
entertained audiences during the 2008 North Country Goes
Green Irish Festival and also wrote music for Martin
Scorsese’s 2002 movie, Gangs of New York. 
