[caption id="attachment_67088" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="These young dancers showed off their steps at the Nassau County Feis."]
With more than 2,000 people in attendance, the recent 39th Annual Nassau County Ancient Order of Hibernians' Feis and Festival gave Long Island a day to celebrate Irish culture and heritage.
"It was a great day with the Irish, along with our honoree Ed Friel," said festival chairman Sean O'Rourke.
"We had a beautiful day weather-wise that allowed all of the festival goers to enjoy Irish culture."
Local officials, including Town of Hempstead supervisor Kate Murray and Nassau County Supreme Court Judge, R. Bruce Cozzens, attended the event along with national and state officers of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Irish Americans in Government, all of whom were represented during the ceremony for 2011 feis honoree, Edward F. Friel.
The centerpiece of the festival was the competitions. The Irish dancing drew 430 participants, while there were 15 bands competing in the bagpipe competitions. There were also events for music, singing, dancing, art and the best soda bread.
Funds were raised through a raffle and a silent auction with tickets and memorabilia donated by the New York Mets, New York Rangers and New York Knicks.
Capping off the day was a two-hour performance by the traditional Irish band, the Sporting Paddies.
This was the third festival held at Molloy College as part of its Irish Studies Program. The school was well represented with members from the program at the event.
The money raised from the festival will be donated to various Irish and Catholic charities, as chosen by the Nassau County Feis Corporation.
More information about the festival can be found on its website at www.nassauaohfeis.com.
