Fairfield County Irish Festival

Feile, Inc., is a charity established under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code, devoted to the preservation and sharing of Irish culture. This will be our 21st year presenting the Fairfield County Irish Festival. The Festival represents Feile’s primary exhibition of Irish culture as well as its principal fundraiser. This year’s festival will be our fourth at Indian Ledge Park in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Feile was founded by the members of the Gaelic American Club in Fairfield, CT to promote and support the many facets of Irish culture. Feile derives its name from the word in the Irish language for a feast day, but the name has acquired the modern meanings of festival, generosity and hospitality.

Feile is run solely by volunteers. We do not use professional fundraisers, and we have no staff. Our board of 15, mostly members of the Gaelic American Club, serve on a purely volunteer basis, as do the hundreds of people who make the operation of the Festival possible.

The money generated by the Festival in past years has allowed Feile to foster an awareness and appreciation of Irish culture by supporting and sponsoring year-long arts and cultural programming, including traditional Irish music concerts, dance and music workshops, theatrical productions, genealogy lectures and a film series. Through charitable donations and grants Feile also supports numerous cultural and charitable causes:

Gaelic Football and Hurling clubs in Connecticut,
Irish Literary Club
Clan na Gael Players theatrical performances
Annual college scholarships to six area high school seniors
Paul Newman’s camps for children with cancer (Hole In The Wall Gang in the U.S and Barretstown Castle in Ireland)
Local charitable efforts including Merton House, Swim Across the Sound and Operation Hope
National causes including National Cancer Society, Catholic Charities, Save the Children, and Katrina Relief
Most recently, Feile established two scholarships (one each semester) to help college students defray some of the additional cost of participating in Sacred Heart University’s Irish Studies program in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland.

Feile’s donations and grants in 2006 exceeded $40,000, including over $12,000 to various high school and youth groups.

During the three days of Father’s Day weekend, the Festival presents over 70 performances and displays of Irish and Irish-American culture and history, including music, dance, drama, storytelling, Irish language demonstrations, genealogy and historical exhibits, crafts, Irish sports (Gaelic football and hurling), and workshops in traditional Irish music and dance.