Hofstra’s annual Irish Festival took place on Sunday, March 8, at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. The event marked the 22nd consecutive Irish Festival at the university. Tickets were priced at $6 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and were free of charge for children under 12 years old and Hofstra students and faculty. Net proceeds from admission tickets and other sales went directly to the Hofstra University Scholarship Fund.
“Irish culture is so important to a lot of Long Island, and it’s very special for us to bring the community to Hofstra to enjoy Irish music, crafts and fun on our campus,” said Maria Galletta, the festival assistant at the Office of Event Management.
Celtic singer Tommy Mulvihill performed at the festival, as did the Black Velvet Band and the Donny Golden School of Irish Dancing. Vendors like Knot World sold foods like baked pretzels. A concession stand, operated by Compass Dining, sold traditional Irish foods like Irish soda bread, clover cookies, Irish sausage and corned beef, and Irish cake and coffee, all priced between $2 and $7.
“I gave my husband a beehive for his birthday and it grew into this,” said Molly Ammaturo, a honey connoisseur and distributor at the festival. “It’s really a family business. And the bees are dying, so I think it’s important. All my items have health properties … so I feel good selling it.”
Other vendors sold products like jewelry, clothing and toys. Jewelry company Origami Owl sold customizable lockets. “I’m Irish, and the culture means a lot to me,” said Jennifer Crawford, an Origami Owl representative. “[Origami Owl] is about building a story.”
“We’re proud to be hosting our 22nd annual Irish Festival this year,” said Jessie Garcia, the coordinator of the festival. “It’s an event that is loved by young and old, a place where the local community, students and staff can gather and enjoy some Irish culture. It’s a special day. Our guests always have fun and look forward to returning the following year.”
Attendees could also pay $2 to be entered into a raffle to win two tickets to the 25th anniversary showing of Riverdance, an Irish dance show. The book “We Were Rich and We Didn’t Know It: A Memoir of My Irish Boyhood” by Tom Phelan was sold as well. The book chronicles the life of a boy on an Irish farm during the 1940s.
“The Hofstra Irish Festival is a wonderful opportunity for Hofstra to host our many community partners, as they do us,” said Patricia Navarra, the founder and director of the Irish Studies program at Hofstra. Navarra also noted that around 500,000 people in Nassau County claim Irish heritage.
“The best of it all, to me, is to welcome our many alums, especially from Irish Studies, who come back with their families to join our Hofstra family once more,” Navarra said.
