The Great Irish Fair is back!

After an absence of one year, the Irish Fair, which had become a fixture in Coney Island for 25 years, will return this year. It will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 22 and 23, in the parking facilities adjacent to KeySpan Park in Coney Island.
This thanks to an energetic group of local Irishmen headed by Martin Cottingham of Holy Name parish, Park Slope, and the Irish-American Building Society.

People like Gerard McCabe and Jerry Keough have been helping spearhead the effort but Cottingham points out that none of it would have been possible without the help of Margaret Keaveney, the former director of communications at Catholic Charities.
While the Fair originally benefitted Catholic Charities, this year’s committee has chosen to assist Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens. Because the Irish never forget, Catholic Charities also will receive a donation.

Great Irish Fair, 2005

Already signed on as major sponsors are Grubb and Ellis, Union Beer, and Commerce Bank.

“Like so many people, we felt badly that there was no Irish Fair last year,” explained Cottingham. “It’s important to carry on the traditions that we have. It’s up to us to see that these customs continue.”

So, Cottingham, who has been active in his home parish helping to preserve the school, took it upon himself to organize a group of other Irish-Americans and off they went.

Along the way, these do-gooders have discovered that it takes more than just good will to produce something as elaborate as The Great Irish Fair. But the ordinary bumps along the road have not deterred them from pushing forward.

In the past, Hibernian leader Al O’Hagan ran the Fair out of his back pocket. But the problem was that when O’Hagan retired to Southern New Jersey, there was no blueprint for what he had so generosuly done all those years.

That’s when Keaveney stepped in. She had worked closely with O’Hagan and was familiar with the grand scheme, although all the nuts and bolts may not have been clear.

Basically, the Fair will follow the same format as previous ones. A full line-up of Irish entertainers have already reserved the weekend to be back in Coney Island. The popular Irish crooner Andy Cooney and entertainer Dermot Henry will be there, as well as the 2U Band, and Garovogue, whom many will remember from previous fairs. And local favorite Sister Beata, CSJ, will make her return to the Fair’s stage.

As usual, there will be a parade of dignitaries at the beginning. Plans now call for a procession from Our Lady of Solace Church to the fairgrounds where Mass will be celebrated to open the event. Following the liturgy, this year’s Chief Brehon and Colleen Queen will be installed. The names of the honorees will be announced at a Brooklyn Borough Hall press conference in August.

Cottingham also pointed out that the committee is working with the Diocesan Schools Office so that individual schools will be able to showcase their offerings and promote their contributions.

Leave it to the Irish. Many of the committee’s members are Catholic school graduates and they know the contributions which our schools have made to the common good of this city. That’s why they’ve rolled up their sleeves, taken on the project and are predicting an even bigger and better Great Irish Fair this year.