[caption id="attachment_71104" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Shilelagh Law performing at the East Durham Irish Festival in 2008."]
As a kid growing up half a block away from one of Long Island’s beautiful beaches I thought I had it all – evening dips in the Atlantic, long bike rides on the boardwalk and a summer job at a beach club where I hung out with life guards and made more cash tips than I knew what to do with. It wasn’t until my college years when I met Irish-American kids from the Catskills that I realized that although they didn’t have sand and surf, their summers were full of a different kind of fun – a two-month long celebration of their heritage that kicked off each year with the Memorial Day Weekend East Durham Irish Festival.
The festival is held at the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre’s festival grounds and features two days of live music, dance, and an array of activities for children. Those who travel to East Durham for the festival weekend are treated to a taste of the hospitality of the people, the natural beauty of the landscape, and the abundance of Irish entertainment that makes the town so special. The residents and business owners welcome festival goers and the excitement they bring with open arms
Though I’ve visited East Durham a handful of times, I wanted to make sure I captured the true heart and soul of the place. So I checked in with two friends of mine who lived, worked, studied, partied, sang, and danced in East Durham for most of their childhood and teenage years. Tara Doohan Thompson and Maggie Kellegher van der Leeuw – two long-time friends who are walking encyclopedias of Irish songs, can jive with the best of them, and attribute their love for their heritage to their upbringing in East Durham.
They spoke of summer weekends filled with Irish dance lessons. Late nights listening to Peter McKiernan, Buddy Connolly, Jimmy Kelly, Celtic Cross and the Whole Shebang were followed by early mornings serving breakfast to vacationing families at the resorts that lined Route 145 where they worked as waitresses. They spoke about the excitement of Memorial Day Weekend, when a sleepy town awoke from a quiet winter to the sounds of bagpipes, step dancers, and energized Irish music fans on a weekend getaway.
For Maggie, the excitement began with the yearly task of painting shamrocks in the middle of Route 145 with her dad to welcome visitors to East Durham. Tara recalled counting the days until Memorial Day weekend with more anticipation than for Christmas. During the festival the girls ran back and forth from their jobs to the stage, quickly changing out of their work clothes into their Irish dance garb, serving sausages and slip jigging five minutes later. I can picture them running down the road, hard shoes in hand, exhausted but happy as could be. After talking with the girls I got the sense that the “work hard, play hard” mentality was a recipe for making good memories growing up in East Durham.
Tara and Maggie have grown up and moved on from their summer jobs in East Durham, but their appreciation for their community remains the same. It’s one that is deeply invested in keeping Irish traditions alive and showing visitors a good time. So consider trading in the sand and the surf this Memorial Day weekend for a Catskills weekend filled with music by Searson, Shilelagh Law, Hair of the Dog, Andy Cooney, Kitty Kelly Band, Jameson’s Revenge and more. For more information about the
festival and lodging in
East Durham visit www.eastdurhamirishfestival.com
For a preview of East Durham Memorial Day Weekend music check out Shilelagh Law at the Saloon in NYC on 4/20 and Andy Cooney at the Glenrowan in Yonkers on 4/22.
