‘You have to keep it alive’: 2025 Irish Fest honors history, heritage
Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band practicing before their performance at the Syracuse Irish Festival. The weekend included various performances from Irish artists. Cassie Roshu | Senior Staff Photographer
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Jim Cox has been coming to the Syracuse Irish Festival for 20 years. He expected a day of Irish performances, cultural food and vendors. He didn’t expect a college reunion.
Cox ran into his college roommate, Mike Beers, at the festival this year. The two reconnected over Syracuse’s rich Irish heritage. They stood at a table, taking in a performance from the Francis Academy of Irish Dance as they waited for The Causeway Giants to start playing.
The Syracuse Irish Festival, an annual event aimed at celebrating Syracuse’s Irish heritage with music, food and drinks, took place this past Friday and Saturday in Clinton Square. The multidecade tradition featured performances from bands and tables of local vendors.
Bands performed traditional Irish music throughout the weekend on the festival’s three stages. The Causeway Giants, who formed in Syracuse in 2003, have been returning to this festival for years. Their performance blended Irish folk with American rock ‘n’ roll.
For those not as interested in the loud music, softer acts like Shawn Halloran, Goitse and Aoife Scott played earlier in the weekend. Attendee Mark Fitzgerald appreciated these acts and said he had to put earplugs in as the noise ramped up.
“(Irish music) hasn’t been the same since The Pogues got a hold of The Clancy Brothers’ tunes,” he said.
The Pogues were a folk-punk fusion band popular in the 1980s, and now their cover of “Dirty Old Town” can be heard on the speakers around the festival as the crowd prepared for the next performance.
Young dancers from Francis Academy of Irish Dance and Johnston School of Irish Dance performed Irish step dance for the festival audience. Both dance companies, which performed separately throughout the weekend, included competitive and non-competitive dancers.
Martin Cahill retires after decades of organizing the festival with David Hoyne, owner of Kitty Hoyne’s Irish Pub. Cassie Roshu | Senior Staff Photographer
The Moxie Strings came out of a two-year retirement for this year’s festival. As the musical duo — composed of sisters Allison Lynn and Diana Aladio — finished up their set, they called Martin Cahill up onto the stage and held up a giant printout of his head to show the audience. Cahill, who’s managed the festival since its third year, is retiring after decades at the festival.
Cahill would make regular trips to Ireland to recruit bands for the Syracuse Irish Festival. He was the first to corner The Moxie Strings at a conference on Oxford Street when the pair originally came to Syracuse. This gave the group their start on the Irish festival scene, which eventually became a big part of their career.
The feeling is mutual. On stage, Cahill referred to Lynn and Aladio as his kids.
“There’s somebody who makes all of this go around year after year after year, and has grown it to the point that there are thousands of you looking up at us right now,” Aladio said. “[He’s] our rank leader, and he’s passing on the torch this year.”
Tom Burke will be taking over at the festival after Cahill’s departure.
Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band member Mary Beth Baycura and her son, John, have been playing together for the last nine years. Cassie Roshu | Senior Staff Photographer
Joseph Kenny, president of the CNY Irish Culture Society, operated the booth for their organization. They use the festival to highlight events, collect donations and attract new members. Kathleen Kenny said their work for the group further connects them to Irish culture.
They meet on the first Sunday of every month at Shaughnessy’s Irish Pub for traditional music sessions, where members of the community at varying proficiency levels come together and play the music of their ancestors.
The Irish Culture Society’s booth also offered free books for attendees. Besides the expected James Joyce novels, the literature spans centuries of Irish history.
“There’s some people that come through the Irish Fest that might not know anything about Irish culture,” Kathleen said. “If they pick up one of these books and they decide they want to read some short stories, then it gives them a better idea.”
Clinton Square was scattered with an array of vendors selling traditional Irish goods from shepherd’s pie to deep green kilts.
Leslie Jamieson’s booth offered 500 unique pieces, vintage rings and handmade Celtic jewelry from her company Thistle Hill Creations. Many of her items are revamped from old pieces. She finds an antique she admires, makes a mold of it and then changes the design.
Leslie and her sister, Heather Jamieson, have been attending the festival for five years. They said they look forward to the opportunity to connect people with and contribute to the rich tapestry of Irish culture.
“I feel like it continues the design through history,” Leslie said. “So many people are cashing in their metal and melting stuff down here that a lot of the designs get lost.”
Just as Leslie preserves historical jewelry by recasting antiques and altering their molds, the Syracuse Irish Festival continues Irish heritage and culture in Syracuse each year while remaining true to its spirit and tradition.
“You have to keep it alive,” Leslie said.
