Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, March 30 from 10-11 AM for  kids 9 & under
Back yard, outdoors only so this is a  weather permitting event.
There will be a visit and photos with the Easter Bunny
Egg hunt
Easter Temporary tattoos
Egg-spoon race
We will age-categorize the hunt and the race so each age category gets  their
own area in the yard.
 
Age categories: 0-3 | 4-6 | 7-9

 

Tuesday Nights in the Pub

THE PUB IS NOW OPEN ON TUESDAY NIGHTS

Beginning Tuesday February 27th the Pub will be open from 5:30- 9pm

Tuesday will be an adult game night – We’ve started a dart league so anyone interested in joining meet in the Children’s Room at 7pm.  You can also bring your board games like scrabble, checkers, etc.

The Kitchen will be closed so you can bring your own food and /or we can do a potluck dinner.

Guinness Glass Etching 5-7pm

GET IT ON A GUINNESS PINT GLASS !
Thursday, March 7th 5to 7pm

Get your engraved St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Glass. In person sign up begins when pub opens at 4pm on the day of event.

Liz McNicholl’s Family Show

LIZ MCNICHOLL’S INTERACTIVE FAMILY SHOW
Sunday, March 3rd at 1:00 pm

Liz McNicholl is a native of Co. Meath and GAC Member, and she’ll perform an interactive children’s concert. Her program is geared toward children of all ages and those young at heart! Come join the fun while fostering Irish culture and enrichment for the family.
Admission is FREE!  Oh and don’t forget to wear your green! Sponsored by FÉILE, INC

IRISH TRAD MUSIC CONCERT

IRISH TRAD MUSIC CONCERT

Breaking Trad Saturday March 9th @ 7:30PM – Admission is $25 Dónal Murphy (accordion), from Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, is a winner of numerous All-Ireland titles on both button accordion and melodeon. David Doocey (fiddle) from Foxford, Co. Mayo, is a winner of multiple awards including the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle competition and the coveted Fiddler of […]

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Breaking Trad Saturday March 9th @ 7:30PM – Admission is $25

Dónal Murphy (accordion), from Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, is a winner of numerous All-Ireland titles on both button accordion and melodeon.

David Doocey (fiddle) from Foxford, Co. Mayo, is a winner of multiple awards including the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle competition and the coveted Fiddler of Oriel trophy.

Mike Galvin (guitar/vocals) has vast experience working in a wide range of musical styles, from rock and roll to Irish traditional.

Together and individually, these musicians have toured extensively around the world, performing at major festivals and music venues as well as touring with some of the biggest names in various music genres, including Four Men And A Dog, De Dannan, Michael Flatley (dance), Sean Keane, Tim O’Brien, Alison Krauss, and Gráda. Their music has been described as dazzling, unorthodox and unique, and high octane.

 

CÉILI IN THE CAROLAN ROOM

CÉILÍ – SUNDAY MARCH 10 @4PM IN THE CAROLAN ROOM.

Whether you come and kick up your heels or just tap to feet to the music by Seagda Coyle (Button Accordion) Eugene Bender (Fiddle), Krista Charles (Keyboards). The Céilí sessions at the GAC are always great craic.

Admission is $20 at the Door
Light refreshments will be served

For information contact Donna Lapolt at donna@lapolt.net ☘ $20 admission

Irish History | Stair Na Héireann

GO RAIBH MILE MAITH AGAT

The Fréamh Éireann Genealogy Group would like to thank Féile and the Irish Language Group for their continued sponsorship of our Irish History Lectures. In May, we will be presenting our 33rd Lecture! Our February lecture, presented by Brendan Kane, Ph.D, was on Irish Bardic Poets.

THERE ISN’T ANYTHING MORE THE SEA CAN DO TO ME”
A MARITIME HISTORY OF MODERN IRISH LITERATURE”

Our May 5, 2024 Irish History Lecture will be presented by Nel Nels Pearson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of English at Fairfield University. (Carolan Room, 2-4 pm)

The topic of the talk will be the role of the sea in modern Irish literature, and it will be drawn from his book manuscript (in process): Dissolving Britain: Water, Coasts and Islands in the Modernist Literature of “the British Isles” . For Full Lecture description visit

Irish History | Stair Na Héireann

Professor Brendan Kane will be our guest lecturer on February 4, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. in the Carolan Room. Dr. Kane is from Reading, Pennsylvania, received a B.A. in history from the University of Rochester, an M.Phil in Irish Studies from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a PhD from Princeton. Prior to coming to UCONN in 2005, he spent a year as the NEH/Keough Fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough Institute of Irish Studies. He serves as Vice-President/President-elect of the Celtic Studies Association of North America, elected Council Member of the North American Conference on British Studies, and co-director of the digital humanities project Léamh.org.

He will lecture on Irish Bardic Poets and the Wider World, c. 1500-1650 considering the place of the Irish bardic poet in European context during the age of the Renaissance and Reformation. His talk will address some of the latest research on the Irish bardic poet in Continental context and will draw upon both Irish-language poetry and prose. It will aim to suggest some ways in which early modern Ireland might look a bit more European than expected and, conversely, how Europe might look a bit more Irish!

Tickets $5.00 (Students with ID $2.00) No scrip or credit cards
Register online: gaclectures@gmail.com.
Subject: Irish History. Please provide name, address, phone

First Friday Trad Musican

Loretta Egan Murphy | March 1st from 6-8pm
This month’s Special Guest is Loretta Egan Murphy. Loretta plays the button accordion and the concertina. She is the winner of numerous national awards and has taught Irish music to hundreds of students in New York and Connecticut. Her CD, Beyond the Watery Lane, received critical acclaim in both the U.S. and Ireland.
When she was younger, she and her sister Monica played the once bustling Catskills circuit. Loretta is also a GAC member and a key member of The Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society and a fixture at our weekly Trad Music Sessions Wednesday nights 7-9pm.

 

 

New Irish Language Beginners Class

10 Week Beginners Irish Course  beginning Tuesday Sept 12th 6:45 PM . Classes can be taken in person at the Gaelic-American Club in Fairfield and/or via Zoom.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The class will start with three themes:

1) 20 Minutes – Speaking Irish: Taught using the communicative method and based on the European Framework for teaching languages, with a goal of teaching some spoken Irish that can be used on a daily basis.

Book Resource: ”Gaeilge Gan Stró! Beginners Level”, by Éamonn Ó Dónaill. A multimedia Irish language course for adults that costs approximately $60. Be cautious when buying the book, that the correct currency is being shown before you commit the order, or that you have done a currency conversion. Same for any other books. However, the first chapter I can send you for free and it will cover you for the first few weeks, especially, as I will be emphasizing how to pronounce Irish initially and moving at a slower pace through materials.

https://www.amazon.com/Gaeilge-gan-Str%C3%B3-Beginners-Level/dp/0956361447
https://www.siopa.ie/en/i-67-gaeilge_gan_stro_-_beginners_level/i.aspx

2) 20 Minutes – Additional Fun Stuff: Various traditional and pop songs,  Irish National Anthem, rhymes, tongue twisters, proverbs, idioms, poems, short stories, etc. in Irish, with the goal of providing material that you can use the rest of your life, even if you don’t seek out the
opportunity to regular speak Irish. In this section, I will point out available (mostly free) Irish learning resources.

3) 10 to 15 mins – Formal Grammar: For those who want it, will be taught at the end of each class. This is something that should be considered ”optional”, as I always point out to new students, there isn’t a child who learnt to speak a language at a young age that did so by learning
“formal grammar.” Still, a small portion of adults swear they can’t learn a language without learning the grammar, this is for you. However, I have found that many who start-out enthusiastic for “formal grammar” often steer away from it within a short time, so this portion of the class could be dropped over time. The book we will use here is ”Irish Grammar You Really Need to Know”, by Éamonn Ó Dónaill. Approx $20 for book or 99 cents for Kindle edition. Again, you don’t need to run out and buy this initially, I will give out some handouts to start you off.

https://www.amazon.com/Irish-Grammar-Really-Teach-Yourself/dp/1444189573
https://www.siopaleabhar.com/en/product/irish-grammar-you-really-need-to-know/

As I said the class will start with these three themes but may be modified by majority decision overtime, to give one or the other themes more emphasis.

Contact Information – Deasúin Ó Nualáin, DesNolan@Optimum.Net.

If people desire it, I can do an intro/review of the class a couple of weeks ahead of its start. Just reach out and let me know. In fact, reach out ahead of time and tell me why you are interested in learning the language and anything you might know already.

A word of caution, in the past, new classes have started out big and rapidly shrunk, because people don’t realize there is work and time involved in learning a language and making progress with it.  But for those with some time and commitment to learn, I’ve rarely failed to bring them along.

This time around, I am trying to blend in some ”additional” fun stuff (section 2) to keep people engaged. Things people will have the opportunity to go back to, the rest of the lives and enjoy.

However, I do encourage you to give serious thought to whether you have the interest and time (10 to 20 mins per day – 1.5 to 2 hours per week) to learn Irish, as personally I find it a little sad to start off with a large class of individuals and end up with a very small one, because
people didn’t factor in the time and effort commitment.

LÁ GAEILGE

LÁ GAEILGE: THE ANNUAL DAY OF
IRISH LANGUAGE & CULTURE EVENT
Saturday, October 7 FROM 8:30AM – 4:30PM

One-day Irish language immersion course for all levels of speakers, presented by the GAC Irish Language group and Féile, Inc.   The day features classes taught by Fulbright Scholars, cultural workshops, door prizes, “coffee & tea” all day, lunch by Chef Joe; so bring a friend and join us for the most fun you’ve had since the last Lá Gaeilge!  Cost is $50/pp, all inclusive; students with ID-$25.
For more information or questions:

Róibín Griskus, 203-233-4979, rdgriskus@aol.com

Cáit Thopsey, 203-459-9686, kthopsey01@gmail.com

25 Card Game

JOIN US SUNDAY MARCH 24TH  AROUND NOON (IRISH TIME).

How 25 is played:

The game of 25 can be played with any number of players, preferably from 5 to 10, not to exceed 10 players. The object of the game is to see who gets 25 first. Each trick is considered 5 points. To begin the game, any player can deal out the cards. The first player to receive an ace is the player who actually gets the first deal. Each player receives five cards. When the dealer is finished dealing the cards, he turns up the next card. This card is called the head trump. Then each player looks at his hand to see how many trump cards he has. The more trump cards a player has, the better his chances are of reaching 25.

The leadoff man to start the game is to the player’s left. If he leads off with a trump, then all players have to play a trump if they have one. Otherwise, they can play any card. If a player has trump, and does not play it, he is guilty of reneging A simple thought to remember is, “the more of the red, and the less of the black.” Another thought is to watch who is getting close to 25. This is called keeping the game “IN.” It is okay to play a trump card anytime a player wishes. The Ace of Hearts is always a trump regardless of what is played. The 5 card is the best card when trumps are up, followed by the Jack of Trumps, followed by the Ace of Hearts.

A complete description of the game would take several pages. The game of 25 is best explained by sitting down and playing an actual game with people who have been playing the game for years. In short, hopefully in some way, this has helped to bring the basics of the game to you.

The late Tom McInerney, a long-standing member of the club, donated this article.

Greater Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Day Parade

FRIDAY MARCH 15TH
PARADE DAY CELEBRATION

March with the GAC in the Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Friday March 15th.

We’ll meet at 11AM at 2145 Fairfield Ave. (the old Stop & Shop Parking Lot).) and travel down Fairfield Avenue to The Castle, Black Rock, 3171 Fairfield Ave.

After the Parade we’ll go back to the GAC for a  day of celebrations with Music and Dance.

MUSIC IN THE PUB

12 PM-2:30:Camac
3 PM-5:30: Mike McGovern
6 PM-8:30: Liz McNicholl
9 PM-11:30: Once Removed

IN THE CAROLAN ROOM

12 PM-1:30: Shamrouges
2 PM-4:30: Just Us
4:30-5 PM: Lenihan Irish Dance
5 PM-7:30: Susan & Gerard
8 PM-10:00: Keltic Kick
Special appearance by Fairfield Gaelic Pipe Band

St Patrick’s Day at the GAC

SUNDAY MARCH 17TH 
SAINT PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION
10 AM Flag Raising  – Followed by light fare
    MUSIC IN THE PUB
12PM-2:00: Once Removed
2:30-4:30: Camac
5:00-7:00: Mostly Green
7:30-10:00: The Jolly Beggars
IN THE CAROLAN ROOM
12 PM-2:00: Alehounds
2:30-4:00: Shamrouges
4:30-5:30: Lenihan School of Irish Dance
6:00-Fairfield Gaelic Pipe Band
7:00-9:30: The C-Sides

 

 

 

Ryan Mahoney Joins Team at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc.

Ryan Mahoney will assist with planning and exhibition of IGHM collection from Quinnipiac University.

Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc., established by members of the Gaelic-American Club in Fairfield, CT, is excited to announce that longtime museum professional Ryan Mahoney will be joining the association as an advisor.

Mahoney most recently served as the Executive Director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University from 2017-2021 where he provided general management and oversight of all administrative operations of the museum, while managing all aspects of the collection’s care and maintenance. From 2013-2017, Mahoney was the Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, NY and he currently works at Springfield Museums in Springfield, Mass., where he helps develop gallery and exhibition themes and supervises installation of exhibition areas.

Mahoney has a dual bachelor’s degree in history and political science from St. John Fisher College and a master’s degree in public history from the University at Albany. He brings over 15 years of professional experience in the museum field to the team at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc. Mahoney also has served as a national board member of the Irish American Cultural Institute, as well as a board member of the United Irish Societies of the Capital District, Inc. In 2016, Mahoney was named an Irish “Top 40 Under 40” by the Irish Echo.

“To say I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with this collection and help in the development of its new home would be an understatement,” said Mahoney. “This collection is powerful. Not only does it tell the story of Ireland in the 19th-century, but it also draws parallels to many contemporary issues that we see worldwide. The artwork here inspires conversations and provokes questions. It makes a topic like the Great Hunger more accessible to visitors of all ages.”

Mahoney added: “The Gaelic-American Club should be commended for the work that they have done to keep this collection together and home here in Connecticut. Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc. is assembling an impressive team of professionals to make sure this project is done correctly. This joint effort will secure the future Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum collection and ensure that it will thrive for generations to come.” (For more information visit https://www.ighmf.org/)

About the Gaelic-American Club of Fairfield

The Gaelic-American Club was founded in 1948 in Bridgeport by a group of Irish immigrants for the purpose of maintaining and celebrating Irish culture. By promoting social, civic, and cultural activities, the GAC continues long held Irish traditions and educates future generations. Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) and operates as an association of the Gaelic-American Club.

Community Support for Museum’s Move to Fairfield

St. Patrick’s GAA Club, Fairfield CT

IRELAND’S GREAT HUNGER MUSEUM TREASURES SAVED
Saving Art Treasures Critically Important to the Irish Community

Fairfield, Connecticut. March 3, 2022 – St. Patrick’s GAA Club welcomes the transfer of the collection from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum to the Gaelic American Club in Fairfield, Connecticut.

“This is terrific opportunity to preserve the unique artistic remembrances of the Great Hunger so that our community never forgets this tragedy,” said Jimmy Feeney, Chairman of St. Patrick’s GAA Club. He further added, “We are so grateful that the leadership of Quinnipiac University and the Gaelic American Club could work together and find a solution that maintains the public’s access to this important historical collection.”
In addition to preserving and promoting Gaelic games in Fairfield County, St. Patrick’s GAA Club supports Irish cultural programs and initiatives including traditional Irish language, music, dance, and literature.

Fairfield University’s response to Gaelic American Club saving and preserving Irish artifacts from Great Hunger Museum

The Irish Hunger Museum is not only among the most important Irish cultural institutions in the region and nation, but it’s collection is a crucial example of the role of art in rendering the human dimensions of loss, trauma, and the unspeakable. The museum represents and commemorates loss, injustice, and dehumanization. To see the museum survive, to have such a respected institution as the Gaelic American Club involved in its’ stewardship, and to have it located in such a well travelled area as downtown Fairfield is a blessing to us all.

Nels Pearson, PhD
Director, The Humanities Institute

Ancient Order of Hibernians JKF Division 1 Bridgeport, CT

It truly is great news to hear that Quinnipiac University is going to gift the entire collection of Art and artifacts of the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum to the Fairfield Gaelic American Club. As an Irish American I am proud of our heritage. As President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians JKF division 1, Bridgeport, CT my chest swells with pride that such an important collection will be in Fairfield. “Fair play to ye” and well done.

If there is anything our organization can do to assist in transfer and set up of the collection do not hesitate to reach out to me. I know our membership will be overjoyed and “over the moon”, happy to hear the news when it is public knowledge.

Mark T. Ryan DMD
President
AOH JFK Division 1
Bridgeport CT

View Letter

(For more information visit https://www.ighmf.org/)

St Patrick’s Day Photo Gallery

“Cead mile failte, 100,000 welcomes. Ireland and the Irish are famous for that sentiment, for the sincerity of their welcome and I want you to feel that uniquely Irish sentiment here today. I want you to feel like you’ve been welcomed home.

This past year, Ireland has felt much further away than any time is our life time and we appreciate even more our heritage, our culture and our home. We appreciate even more what’s it like to have a club like this, where we can feel that welcome, where we can meet a friend, enjoy their company, truly like a home away from home.

We pray that in this coming year, we can reflect NOT on what we’ve lost this past year, but what we’ve gained. An appreciation of what is truly precious in this life, the connection to those we love, and a deeper appreciation of what home and family really means.

We, as a community have learned that we must never take for granted what it means to have a home like this to come to. We must always remember the work the previous generations of Irish men and women have invested, and we must endeavor to continue their work so that our children can feel the same connection to our heritage that brought you all here today.

So today I wish you, with all my heart, Cead mile failte. Welcome home, and a very Happy St Patrick’s Day.”

Gerry Forde
GAC Executive Committee President

Dining At the GAC

Menu can be viewed on home page.

The GAC will update safety precautions as necessary

KITCHEN HOURS
Wednesday & Thursday: Kitchen open at 4 closes at 9pm
Friday: Kitchen open at 4 and closes at 10pm
Saturday: Kitchen open at 12 and closes at 10pm
Sunday: Kitchen open at 12 and closes at 8pm

EXTENDED PUB HOURS
Wednesday & Thursday open till 10pm
Friday & Saturday open till 12pm
Sunday open till 9pm

The GAC Accepts All Forms of Payment Cash, Credit Cards or Scrip.

Bar Service is Back – No Reservations.

 

Fantastic Start to Fundraising Efforts for Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, INC

(Left to right) John Foley President of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc. Amy O’Shea Vice President of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc. Connecticut State Senator Tony Hwang Dr. Christine Kinealy PhD founding director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute Gerry Forde President of the Gaelic-American Club.


The Ancient Order of Hibernians hosted breakfast at the Gaelic-American Club on Sunday March 6th and a total of $10,000 was donated to the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc.

Dr. Kinealy was the guest speaker for the event and was introduced by Amy O’Shea. The following was Amy’s speech.

“Good morning everyone. My name is Amy O’Shea and I’m delighted to be the very first speaker from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield.

The journey you join us on today started when a few Gaelic-American board members joined the fight to reopen a shuttered museum in Hamden and it continued months later when we hosted an event there in the pouring rain in October.

What followed was months of quiet negotiations and representation of the Irish-American community in Connecticut.

Months of late night phone calls, text messages, emails and meetings in Hamden and Fairfield which lead us to this momentous decision by Quinnipiac on Friday.

The decision to transfer this great collection to the Gaelic American Club right here in Fairfield.

We are so very grateful that Quinnipiac is entrusting us with this incredibly important and prestigious collection and we fully understand and are prepared for the enormity of the responsibility we have undertaken.

The announcement has already been met with such an unbelievable outpouring of support from the Irish American community and we thank you for joining this small group at the beginning of our journey.

Over the coming months we will build something new and beautiful and we will show the world that Irish-America is as strong as ever. We will build on the story that Dr. John Lahey started and we will tell the story of our ancestors and how we got here.

Today I have the great honor to introduce someone who knows this great collection like no other and one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Great Hunger. It is truly my great pleasure to introduce Dr. Christine Kinealy.”

A total of $10,000 was donated to the Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield, Inc. at the event.  Many thanks to Ted Lovely family , the AOH for matching their donation and those who donated anonymously.

(For more information visit https://www.ighmf.org/)