Q-C celebrates Irish culture

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| Monday, September 22, 2003 12:31 AM CDT | () comments

Christina McNamara

The luck of the Irish didn't keep the clouds from raining on the 19th annual Erin Feis in the District of Rock Island Sunday afternoon.

But people wearing green shamrocks and kilts enjoyed about four hours of Irish music and food before the bad weather rolled in and wet the Irish flags flying over the festivities.

"We come out every year. There's great music. Everybody thinks we just drink beer and kick our feet up, but there's more to it than that," Mike Boyd of Bettendorf said.

"The purpose of the event is to enhance knowledge of the Irish culture in the Quad-Cities. People need to know about their ancestors and pass it on to others," said Pat Burke, Erin Feis co-chair and St. Patrick Society president.

Erin Feis, the St. Patrick Society's main fund-raiser for the St. Patrick's Day parade, began with a Catholic mass attended by about 600 people. They celebrated peace progress in Northern Ireland.

"They're building hotels for tourists and middle class kids are going to college. It looks like the peace accord is going to hold," said The Rev. James Conroy, one of the Mass celebrants.

The Red Hair and Freckle competition for Irish-looking kids was new to this year's festival.

"Other Irish festivals have this. We decided it was our turn to try it here. It's great. More than 20 kids are participating," Burke said.

Nancy Bowker looked on as her granddaughter, 11-year-old Samantha Lonergan of Rock Island, showed judges her true Irish looks.

"Sammy rolled everything up because she has lots of freckles on her arms and legs," she said.

Traditional fare such as corned beef and Irish soda bread was gobbled up as quick as it was dished out.

"We had Irish stew but it was gone in a heartbeat," Dave Duax, a volunteer, said.

Quad-City members of the Chicago-based Mullane Irish Dance Academy clicked their heels together dancing jigs.

"It's a combination of tap dancing, square dancing and ballet. American tap dancing is a derivative of Irish tap dancing. It's the same moves, but their hands remain at their sides," instructor Mike Mullane said.

"When I was 5 years old, I saw them dancing at the Irish festival, and I really wanted to do it. I really liked it because it was different than what everybody else was doing," dancer Emma Quinn, 13, Davenport, said.

Irish flags, maps, and pictures of castles in Ireland were on display at a cultural exhibit.

University of Iowa student Sarah Grimm of DeWitt, Iowa, paged through a phone book searching for the address and phone number of the family she'll live with while she student teaches in Ireland.

"I'm staying with a family south of Dublin. Ireland's education system is very different. People there are very well educated," she said.

Memorabilia such as Irish clothing, jewelry, china, and music was for sale.

Ken Siegert, owner of Shamrock Imports, Dubuque, sold all sorts of merchandise.

His wife, a native of Ireland, inspired him to start his business.

"My wife wanted to help the Irish employment situation by purchasing goods and creating employment and revenue," he said.

Organizers of Erin Feis hope to raise about $8,000 to help pay for the parade and to fund scholarships and charitable contributions.

The city desk can be contacted at

(563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.