Summer in Cleveland brings a special energy to our Irish community. As we welcome the bright possibilities of June, I’m mindful of transitions, not just of seasons, but of voices too.
The voice of Francis McGarry, our beloved historian and chronicler of some of Cleveland’s Irish experience, has fallen silent. Francis brought to these pages a historian’s precision and a storyteller’s heart.
As I work to help continue the Cleveland Irish page, I’m reminded of something essential about our Irish heritage – it survives through transitions, both joyous and difficult. I bring my own unique perspective to our shared story.
Despite my slight Eastern European accent and occasional confusion between jump-two-threes and the three-step polka, I trace a good part of my ancestral lineage back to the Emerald Isle, and the Cleveland Irish community has welcomed me and my family with open arms.
The Annual Irish Picnic
One enduring tradition in Cleveland’s Irish American culture has been the annual picnic. The Irish Reunion and Field Day Picnic began on July 4th, 1900, supported by Clan-na-Gael organizations as a cultural marker reinforcing Irish identity through food and fun.
The West Side Irish American Club (WSIA) eventually joined Clan-na-Gael, hosting gatherings with sports competitions, marching units and bands emphasizing Irish culture and independence. Over decades, the picnic relocated to Incarnate Word grounds (1950s), Parmadale (1955), and the Berea Fairgrounds (1956-1959), featuring tug-of-war, egg-throwing contests and sports programs. Children looked forward to candy provided by club founder and President, Pat Lynch.
In the 1960s, picnics became like festivals, with more entertainment. The 1961 picnic at the Berea Fairgrounds featured Gaelic football games, with players from seven different cities: a twelve-horse merry-go-round, and a fishpond. These events often included raffles and were consistently profitable for the club.
The tradition peaked on August 19, 1973, when the “groundbreaking event” picnic was held at the new Olmsted Township location, drawing an impressive crowd of 2,000 people. Two of the club’s founders, Art McChrystal, age 84, and Nellie Patton, age 94, were featured guests, symbolizing the continuity of Irish American traditions from one generation to the next.
In the late 1970s, Cleveland’s Irish summer landscape expanded with the founding of the East Side Irish American Club (IACES), which brought new momentum for summer fun.
East Side Irish American Club Summer Traditions
IACES developed its own summer traditions. One of the most cherished is the Jack Kilroy Memorial Golf Outing. Honoring a founding member, this annual event brings together generations of Irish Americans for a day of friendly competition and camaraderie.
IACES also hosted summer picnics, starting in 1979, at various eastside campgrounds, then moving to Pioneer Waterland in the mid-1980s to better accommodate young families. Longtime club member and current President Linda Walsh fondly recalls, “One year, somebody brought squirt guns, so then the next year somebody brought bigger squirt guns, and the year after that, Jack Carroll (a Charter Member) came with a backpack Super Soaker. That became the funniest part of it, and the kids really loved it.”
Later, the picnics moved to club grounds, but continued to focus on children’s entertainment. Linda remembers, “One of the things we had here was member Helen Murphy dressed up with her scarf.
We called her Madam Marushka, and she would tell the kids’ fortunes. She had a few stumpers, such as a young woman asking if she would find a husband that year. Madam Marushka’s fortune ball answered, ‘Hopefully!’”
Eventually moving to Sims Park in Euclid, these community-building events paused when the city stopped issuing permits post-COVID. The club hopes to revive them soon.
IACES’ outdoor patio has recently become a centerpiece of summer social life. “We had donations from the Campbell and O’Brien families, and that’s when we applied to the city to open up a patio,” Walsh explains.
The Campbell-O’Brien Patio now hosts regular summer gatherings, including weekly Thirsty Thursday events, where members bring side dishes and volunteers grill up burgers and hot dogs.
Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival
The crown jewel of modern summer Irish events is undoubtedly Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival, founded by John O’Brien, Sr. in 1982 with a group of dedicated volunteers. The group intended to showcase and preserve authentic Irish traditions beyond the stereotypes sometimes associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
What began as a modest two-day event attracting 3,000 visitors has grown into one of the premier Irish festivals in the United States. Held at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds since 1992, the festival features multiple stages with performances ranging from traditional Irish music sessions to contemporary Celtic rock, alongside dance exhibitions, cultural exhibits, and vendors offering authentic Irish merchandise.
The festival’s emphasis on education and cultural preservation helps connect younger generations to their heritage. The Irish Immigrants to Cleveland photographic display is among the many historical exhibits featuring photographs, documents, and artifacts from early Irish settlements in Cleveland neighborhoods like The Angle, St. Clair-Superior, and the west side enclaves.
This summer’s festival, running July 18-20, will mark its 40th. Throughout the years, the event has donated more than $770,000 to local and national charities, embodying the Irish tradition of community service. Today, leadership has passed to O’Brien’s son-in-law, Philip Parente, who continues to evolve the festival while maintaining its authentic cultural core.
This Summer’s Irish Events
I hope you have a chance to attend the festival or enjoy an evening at one of Cleveland’s Irish venues this season. From the earliest picnics to today’s cultural festivals, Cleveland’s Irish American community has woven its heritage into these cherished summer traditions, demonstrating how immigrant cultures can both preserve their unique identity and enrich the broader American experience.
