SIGH SCRAPBOOK
What we do, when we do it, etc.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage is excited about our upcoming year of Irish fun!
We are looking forward to a grand 2023 with SIGH.
We hope you will be joining us as we share our wonderful Irish culture & traditions at our events and through our Facebook page.
Please visit our MEMBERSHIP INFO page for the details
to become a member and/or a SIGH SPONSOR!
SLAINTE'
Suncoast Irish celebrates Robert Burns !!
"And indeed... we did present, address, toast and then
stabbed the Haggis".
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage (SIGH) sends loads of thank you's to the full-house of folks that attended our awesome Robert Burns Celebration at Jacks London Grill (1050 62nd Ave. No. St. Pete) on Saturday January 24th.
Chef Peter makes a delicious Haggis!! The staff was amazing, and this pub is very kind and supportive of SIGH.
Kudos and great thanks to our emcee for the evening, and the event facilitator, Daniel O'Dell and to Gary Fuller for providing the sound system and set up.
Our program included guest speaker, William "Billy" Fisher, to tell us of the Immortal Rabbie Burns.
Thank you to the lovely Sionaínn Rose O'Dell with preparing the favors that were made up for SIGH guests, and shared in the readings and salutations to Robert Burns.
We enjoyed the bagpipes as played by the extraordinary young lady from Dunedin, Bethany Herkowitz .
Music for the evening was brought to us by the teriffic tenor voiced Daniel O'Dell. Gary Fuller and Goody Haines shared a few tunes as well!
SIGH raffle "McGregor Clan Whisky Basket" winner was Tommy Williams .
Matthew Mitchell , of the NWC Dunedin Chapter, won our 50/50 drawing. Some really big thanks to Janette Pomeroy (NWC) for helping with our ticket sales!
Photos contributed by Rafael L. Urfet, Jen Shumilak , Gary Fuller & Sionainn O'Dell.
Once again, thank you to all who attended, and keep any eye on our upcoming Suncoast Irish events... AND for our meetup at Jacks London Grill SOON!
Sláinte!
SUNCOAST IRISH & GAELIC HERITAGE AT SEMINOLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Thursday evening, March 2nd, Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage members, Gary Fuller , Kathryn Waddell Jetter , Liam "the Leprechaun" Cain and Goody Haines enjoyed the many children, teachers and parents at the Seminole Elementary Annual Multicultural Night!
Gary and Goody had an opportunity to sing some Irish songs to entertain the crowd in the auditorium.
Thank you to Ms. Alice Stewart and her mighty staff that have put together another grand year of this school festival.
In addition to the Irish group, there were also some other St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society groups at the school as well.
Looking forward to doing this again
in 2024!
Suncoast Irish at Gulfport Market!!
Let's get an early start for St. Patrick's Day... *Tuesday March 7th from 9 am til 2 pm*
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage will be set up at 2920 Beach Blvd S, Gulfport, FL (right next to the Courtyard/Stella's)
There will be an awesome opportunity to win a pair of ENTRY tickets to PADDYFEST at Williams Park -downtown St. Pete -
on ST. PATRICK'S DAY. (The biggest St. Pat's celebration ever seen in downtown St. Pete- from 10 am to 10 pm.
We are a 501(c)3 not for profit organization that celebrates and shares our Irish/Celtic/Gaelic heritage
around the Tampa Bay area.
We are the GRAND IRISH VILLAGE at the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair and a member of SPIFFS.
( Learn more about our Suncoast Irish group at www.suncoastirish.com )
SPIFFS will also be present to talk with folks about their cultural heritage!!
Yours in Celtic Harmony, Goody Haines (a former Gulfport gurl)
RECAP: SIGH AT THE MARKET DAY!!!
Gary Fuller and I had a lovely Florida day in Gulfport to share our Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage organization with everyone that came to the Gulfport Tuesday Market.
We met a ton of really cool folks, and some were from Ireland!!
As a matter of fact, the downtown St. Pete PADDYFEST FESTIVAL tickets drawing was won by Tom Sheridan, originally from County Meath.
Thanks to "The Vintage Celt" for sponsoring the PADDYFEST TICKET GIVEAWAY!
By the way: Along with the Vintage Celt booth, LOOK FOR THE SUNCOAST IRISH TENT at Williams Park in downtown St. Pete on Friday Mar 17th for the big St. Patrick's Day festivities.
Thank you to Gene & Mary Stenov and the Russian-American Club for sharing their property with SIGH and the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society. (SPIFFS)
SPIFFS was present today with a table to share the excitement of the organization and the many Folk Fairs held.
Thank you too, to Steven Barefield & Bill Parsons (SPIFFS Treasurer & President, respectively) for setting up & sitting in to talk with passersby.
Have a safe and FUN St. Patrick's Day!
Yours in Celtic Harmony,
Goody Haines
*President-Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage
*Vice President-St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society
Suncoast Irish CELEBRATES ST. PATRICK'S DAY AT PADDYFEST!
Gary & I want to thank SOOOO many of our kind members and friends that came to the festival and helped out!
The always-energetic and amazing Ann Hazlewood-Seidl was with Gary and I at 5:00 am ( yep, you read that right) to start setting up for the day.
Christian Arial ... Bright and early in the morning- Christian brought us a cooler of ice & bottled water. It sure was needed during the day!
Ross Tarr was WAY COOL as Roscoe the Leprechaun. Accompanied by his pal, Padraig, he entertained passers-by and did a great job of hawking the raffle baskets for SIGH.
SIGH Secretary, Cheri Adams and newest member Jacquie Padgett helped with raffle sales AND had lots of children sign up for the SPECIAL CHILDREN'S BASKET that SIGH offered...
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!!
Newer members, Cat Downing and her daughter Lulu, were awesome all afternoon with their assistance at the sales tent.
Gulfport resident, Issa Lovelace, was of great help for the early evening. Gary & I met Issa last week at Gport's Tues. Morn Market. She volunteered right away and we appreciate her help!!
Founding member, Kathryn Waddell Jetter & her daughter Rana, were able to catch the mid-afternoon shift for raffles and chatting with folks.
Members Paul & Kim Graham were a great help in the late afternoon to hang out and help at the SIGH tent... It's always good to see them!!!
In addition to Ann starting with us at 5:00 am in the morning, we want to give an enormous shout out to Jennifer Coleman and her husband Cory... for driving up to St. Pete from Venice to be at the ready for taking on the daunting task of breaking down both tents and getting everything transported (think : 1 piece at a time ) and packed into the van... Through the festival-goers, at the dimly lit park and with next to no light at the street, AND playing Tetris to get it all packed... it was no small feat.
We were done by 10:30 pm.
But wait, there's more!!!
We had the honor of having our beloved friend, Pat Packer and her sweet beau Bob, to spend some time with us at PaddyFest. Miss Pat is the owner of the "never-to-be-forgotten" Harp and Thistle Irish Pub that used to be on St. Pete Beach. It's always a joy to see her joyful smile! There were so many people at Paddy Fest that remember her!!
I have to tell you how terrific it was to meet John DeNovi of the Tampa GAA. We've connected on FB and finally got to meet. Y'all need to check them out! Hurling: A great Irish sport!!
We were also across the aisle from the St. Petersburg Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. (SIGH was recently invited by Norman McEvoy of the AOH to attend the Proclamation for making March the Irish Heritage Month in Tampa at the office of Mayor Jane Castor.)
At Paddy Fest, we were able to meet some more of the AOH officials.
"Great John" was a pleasure to chat with!! He shared a bit of Hibernian history... perhaps we will have a chance to talk again soon.
Thank you Brendan Kelley for your kind and welcoming words. We look forward to connecting with the AOH in our future.
AND... PADDY FEST was promoted on Channel 13 by the one and only super guy, Charley Belcher!!!
I have to admit, after 2 plus decades of watching him on tv, I was a tad starstruck. He really is the super nice guy you see on television!!!!
I was flattered when he asked if he could do a brief interview. I was a little nervous, but I enjoyed the opportunity to let him know about the Vintage Celt and Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage. (PS: I AM vintage)
An exciting and full St. Patrick's Day for sure!
PADDY FEST was an awesome event for St. Pete. Thank you to Pete Boland for bringing this event to fruition. Thank you to Cage O'Hanlon for being so conscientious and helping to make this event a success for downtown.
I need to tell ya, I couldn't have done this all without my loving husband, Gary. He does the work of 3 people most of the time, he is my greatest confidant, supporter, devil's advocate when needed, and is always ready to run with me for SIGH or any other project that comes up.
Our pictures here are courtesy of Gary Fuller + Jacquie Padgett + Cheri Adams + John DeNovi.
Once again, I want to thank everyone that was part of making this day happen! Y'all totally ROCK!! We shall next see you at the Dunedin Highland Games on April 1st
Yours in Celtic Harmony, Goody Haines
Suncoast Irish at the DUNEDIN HIGHLAND GAMES - April 1st, 2023
HIGHLANDER PARK, Dunedin , Fl.
Well, even though Gary Fuller and I had vehicle malfunctions, towing services and borrowed vehicles plaguing us on Friday, we had an amazing day at the Dunedin Highland Games on Saturday. We owe so much to our Suncoast Irish VP -
Skip de Montozon for staying after the event to load our tent stuffs into the back of
his truck... then drive it down to Seminole where it will all be held until our van is repaired. ( Alternator quit).
Next a huge amount of gratitude to our SIGH founding member -
Rose Graham Doyle for loaning us her car for all of this...
AND for welcoming Gary & I into her home for the weekend.
We are SOOOO APPRECIATIVE of our SIGH members and friends that spent some time at our tent to share our organization with festival-goers! Many thanks to: Kathie Nutter, Christian Arial , Denise & Tommy Williams , Merikay Larrabee & Katie.
We were delighted to have had the exciting presence of (Seanchi' Productions) the REENACTORS that portrayed Robert the Bruce, Lady Marjorie, and their entourage. Thank you Libby Higdon, Jack Duncan, Alexis Strokoff & Samantha Turner-Richardson.
Congrats to the winners of the Raffle Baskets this weekend: Diane Pane won 2 of
the baskets!!
The "St. Patrick's Day" Raffle basket was claimed by winner James Platt.
We were also visited by Ken Mai, the winner of the 2 passes to the
Dunedin Highland Games at the St. Patrick's Day SIGH Raffle.
Then there was the grand parade. VERY AWESOME TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS
PART OF THE CEREMONIES!
We enjoyed the company of our friend & Brandon NWC Officer Lori M. Smith with
our banner in the parade. There were lots of Irish flags waving!!
Congratulations to the honorary chieftain for 2023, Dunedin Highland Middle School Band Director, Mr. Greg P. Urban. He was personally escorted to each of the clan
village tents and introduced.
There is a custom of offering a wee dram for a toast to the Honorary Chieftain... and Suncoast Irish was prepared.
We craic'd open a bottle of Irish Poitin and toasts were made to the
Games Chieftain and our Dunedin hosts!
There were over 50 Clans and Societies, and Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage was honored to be the Irish - Scots/Irish representation at this event again this year!!
Suncoast Irish sponsored the SWFL Jacobite reenactors. You may have seen them
in the demonstration area with the Order of the Black Spear reenactment troupe.
Pictures on the post courtesy of Cheryl McFarlin , Kathie Nutter , Lisa Bekiaris ,
Maureen Patrick & Goody.
Thank you to everyone! We are looking forward to next year!!
Yours in Celtic Harmony, Goody Haines
SIGH goes to the Celtic Fest at Fisherman's Village - Punta Gorda, Fl. Saturday May 13th, 2023
Whew, it's a scorcher out there today.
The Celtic Fest at Fisherman's Village was a nice way
to spend some time reconnecting with lots of
festival friends!
Shout out to SIGH members, Oisín Ó Ruacháinn and Brittany Ó Ruacháinn also Michael Ward & Kimberly Alita (Sarasota NWC) and Jacob Winge as they were showcasing the Jacobite encampment display.
Gary Fuller and I met a lovely lady named Leslie who is an amazing seamstress. She is a wealth of knowledge!!
We spent some grand time listening to the band McIntyre at the chickee on the beach!
Thank you for playing my request of "Portland Town"!
Further the boardwalk was the band MacTier. What a great rendition of 7N song Scream...
Nice to see Christer Saarikko and Ken Walker in action again!!
Oh, I need to give a wee shout out to the pup, Draco - the St. Pete Shanties mascot! Such a cutie, and will accept luv & pets!
In spite of drinking lots of water, the heat became too much so we said our g'bye's and headed out.
We regret we weren't able to stay for the Byrne Brothers set. We did get to chat a moment with mum, Julie. Tommy Byrne was quite busy preparing the stage.
Met some new folks from the United Irish of Southwest Florida group. I'm looking forward to our Suncoast Irish organization connecting with them in the near future.
On the recommendation of Jamie Ryan , we stopped for lunch at the Peace River Brewing Company for some Thai food.
Got to cool down and get nourishment to head home.
SIGH kicks off SUMMER RIGHT ... at the PINELLAS PARK LIBRARY SUMMER READING SIZZLE
A wonderful way to enjoy a
Sunday afternoon!
"A Celtic Summer Sizzle" at the library!
Thank you to Gary Fuller for providing the sound system and for singing the story of "Bridgett O'Shea" along with other tunes, with Goody Haines as the
"Blarney Roses".
A big thank you our wonderful Leprechaun, Ross Tarr , for popping in for a visit and share some real Irish tales.
The children learned some handclapping songs and received their very own pot o' gold, complete with a magical coin!
Ms. Peggy of the Children's Library Services, prepared the amazing craft of "Magic Reading Wands", for the children to create at home. Pinellas Park Library kicked off their Summer Reading Program .
It was a grand afternoon and just the sort of thing that
Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage (SIGH) is so happy to be part of in
our community.
SIGH emphasizes the Irish & Gaelic Heritage and culture at various venues
in the greater Tampa Bay area.
We also let the families know about the IRISH VILLAGE that will be at the
SPIFFS St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, Inc. (SPIFFS)
Folk Fair in Oct.
Please visit us on our FB page and at our website: www.suncoastirish.com for more details on our upcoming events.
Sláinte
CELTIC SUMMER SIZZLE HOUSE CONCERT FUNDRAISER FOR SIGH
SUNDAY JUNE 24th, 2023 RAC Hall / Gulfport, FL. 3:00 PM
Many great thanks to Brendan Nolan for suggesting Suncoast Irish have this fundraiser and offering his time to make it happen!
He was phenomenal - AS ALWAYS!!
Pamela Jo Hatley 's music was such an awesome match for this afternoon's concert.
She is a very talented lady and I love hearing her play the banjo with her terrific original tunes.
Maureen Walsh-Nolan , thank you muches for the helping hand!
We are also grateful to Gene & Mary Stenov of the RAC Hall.
It is a lovely venue and we have plans in the works for future events there.
PS: Mary makes the most awesome cookies!!!
Tom Wheeler had the luck of the Irish with him. He won 2 of the 3 raffle items offered today!
Billy William R Fisher won the BONUS RAFFLE of an annual Suncoast Irish MEMBERSHIP.
Congratulations and many BIG THANK YOU's
to everyone for attending.
Thank you to Jen Shumilak for the terrific photos!! Find more photos & video on the
SIGH FB page.
Proceeds go towards our goal of the IRISH VILLAGE at the Oct. SUNCOAST IRISH at St. Petersburg International Folk Fair
Sláinte,Goody and SIGH Officers
Suncoast Irish
Music Night in the 'Burg
Let's get together and feel alright!!!
What a GRAND evening shared by all of us at the pub!
We enjoyed listening to the newest Celtic band in
our area... Drunken Shrubbery!
Glad to see ya again Tommy & Denise Williams!
We were served great food and loved the awesome downtown atmosphere found at
Mary Margaret's Olde Irish Tavern.
Mary Margaret's (with Pete Boland) will once again be our IRISH VILLAGE PUB STAGE SPONSOR for our International Folk Fair Irish Village event that happens in Oct.
Make sure to tell Pete and his crew thank you for the support!!!
SLAINTE!
SUNCOAST IRISH
CELEBRATES
HalfWay to
St. Patrick's Day
Thank you so very much to Chef McKenna & Julio at Mickey Quinn's in Seminole. We got a great start to our
Halfway to St. Patrick's Day with Suncoast Irish Party.
The meals were delicious, as always!
Gary Fuller loves the Bangers and Mash!
Starting at 4:00 pm with the terrific Newfoundland transplant Jim Bragg until 6:30... He has some amazing original songs.
Jim's Newfoundland Pride song is one of my favorites!!
Ready and raring to go right after Jim's set were 4 of the sweetest dancing ladies you ever did see.
Many thanks to dance-mom Emma for working with SIGH on behalf of the Scariff Irish Dance Tampa .
Just so ya' know, they are starting Irish dance classes in St. Pete in a few weeks! Check em' out!!!
The finest Leprechaun in all of Tampa Bay - Roscoe the Leprechaun ( Ross Tarr ) gave us a bit of insight to what Leprechauns are all about, where they come from and why you must make sure to keep your eye on one should you have have the fortune to capture one.
The rest of the evening we got to listen to Casey O'Reilly and some fine pub tunes. He also shared a couple of his original songs in the mix... very cool!
Casey was our Raffle Ticket Picker for the evening. (Thank ya!!)
Suncoast Irish had 6 really awesome raffle baskets and items that went home with some very lucky folks!
Driving over from Lakeland, Denise & Tommy Williams were a grand help with the selling of the raffle tickets... and it's always good to see them at our SIGH get-togethers.
Former SIGH officer, Rose Graham Doyle, stopped in to wish us well and listen to a bit of the music! Grand to see you Rose!!!
Shout out to Cat Downing & LuLu... It was so nice to get a minute to chat with you. I'm looking forward to our connecting thru the Irish Village, SPIFFS, and the Irish Studies Program!!
Eileen Navarro , what a surprise to see ya'!!! Like I said, your trips looked awesome! (I'm a wee bit jealous)
Suncoast Irish made lots of new friends this evening and we welcome all of you!!
Thank you to everyone! We had such a grand time all afternoon and evening ! Happy Halfway to St. Patrick's Day weekend to all!!
Sláinte,
Goody and SUNCOAST IRISH Officers
In the words of: Patrick O'Malley -
SIGH member - Facebook Follower
Wow, Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage knows how to put on a party.
Nonstop Irish music-dance-storytelling-great food-free drink samples-the bling- the cool raffled items (6 of them) and a leprechaun to make this Halfway to
St. Patrick's Day memorable at
Mickey Quinn's Irish Pub.
Thanks for making this day fun for
this old man.
SUNCOAST IRISH & GAELIC HERITAGE
IS PROUD TO PRESENT OUR IRISH VILLAGE
at the
ST. PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL FOLK FAIR
October 19 21, 2023 / Albert Witted Park - St. Pete, Fl.
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR MEMBERS FRIENDS & SPONSORS
AS THEY MADE IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE SUCH A GRAND VILLAGE!
Dia dhuit my friends
There are sooo many wonderful folks to thank for helping at the Suncoast Irish & Gaelic Heritage IRISH VILLAGE AT SPIFFS!
Our SPONSORS are awesome folks that support the mission of sharing our grand Irish culture and heritage at this event.
We are so grateful for the financial support you have given
*Ancient Order of Hibernians- Spring Hill Chapter
*Friends of Florida Folk
*Downing Funeral Home & Cremation Services
*New World Celts-Brandon, Dunedin, Sarasota chapters
*Mary Margaret's Olde Irish Tavern
*Mickey Quinn's Irish Pub
*Brendan Nolan
*Chuck McAdams
*Daniel O'Dell
*Skip DeMontozon
*Norman McEvoy
*The Vintage Celt
Thank you to our Suncoast Irish members that also support our cause and were able to provide sponsorships and spend time at the village for the children and their families. Our Suncoast Irish Officers did an amazing job of keeping the kids engaged and active! Many thanks to SIGH officers Skip de Montozon, William R Fisher, Cheri Adams & Sgt-at-Arms Gary Fuller!
The NEW WORLD CELTS, Brandon, Dunedin & Sarasota Chapters... In addition to being Sponsors, and helping out at the Irish Village in engaging the fair goers in Irish music, games and educational stuffs, members from these 3 chapters also manned the SPIFFS beer pouring tent. Sláinte to Lori M. Smith & Janette Pomeroy for spearheading that part of the Fair on Saturday.
We were very fortunate to have the Gallowglass Reenactors with us once again.
They share their stories of the customs of the day in early Irish & Celtic life. Thank you to Fritz John Fritz Karrer for spearheading this with his team of fellow reenactors. Many thanks as well to Libby Higdon of Seanachi Productions.
The theme of the International Folk Fair this year was SPORTS AND GAMES. The Irish Village has its contribution... Thank you to Gary Fuller for designing & creating the really cool Ring Game Board that was played all weekend long.
Lots of folks were sporting their green shamrock sticker for their game playing efforts.
What is an Irish Village without some grand and delicious Irish foods?!! Chef McKenna never disappoints - the Corned Beef sliders, Guinness gravy with Shepherd Pie poppers and of course, the scrumptious Irish Cream bread pudding!
Thank you to Chef McKenna Hale & Julio Caballero from Mickey Quinn's Irish Pub for providing delicious foods & fresh Irish Coffee all 3 days of the Fair!!!
Lisa Bekiaris brought her scrumptious scones & Irish soda bread to our Irish village on Saturday. Her "BLARNEY SCONE" bakery is a local legend.
We were pleased to have a new group to be part of our village this year. The St. Pete Division 2 Ancient Order of Hibernians were present to chat with folks about Irish heritage and of their organization. AOH / SIGH member Norman McEvoy facilitated their presence. We were able to welcome the AOH State VP - Brendan Kelley as our guest on Saturday with the AOH folks.
Crafty genealogist- Jacquie Padgett - shared a Brigid's Cross workshop throughout the days. They were lovely!!!
From the Pinellas Weavers Guild, we were so excited to have the return of Haley Elizabeth and Elizabeth Neily. These artistic ladies spent their days showing the techniques on the Spinning Wheel, the Loom and doing some weaving. All of that was fascinating to watch and learn.
Thank you, once again, to Gary Fuller for creating our sweet IRISH PUB STAGE tent. He brought his sound system and made sure everyone sounded good! Of course, we want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Pete Boland for sponsoring the Mary Margaret's Olde Irish Tavern Pub Stage at the Irish Village again this year!
Now, about the musicians, storytellers and educators... These folks are the best! They entertained the thousands of schools children on Thursday & Friday, and then the general public on Saturday.
Irish, Celtic, Shanties and tales in songs by Don Pigeon & R. Mike Donohue , Daniel O'Dell, Sean O'Rourke, Barking Dogs Old Time String Band, St. Pete Shanties, Sionainn O'Dell & Bob Lusk .
Storytellers Ross Tarr and Kirsten Marie S filled the pub stage tent with all kinds of mystical tales.
Gaelic Language, Hurling/Gaelic Football demonstrations were brought to us by our educator-in-residence, Oisín Ó Ruacháinn.
On Saturday the TAMPA BAY GAA was represented for a bit of a scrimmage on the field.
Amazing Irish dancing, as always, by the Scariff Irish Dance Tampa school. These are award winning students! Scariff now has a school located in St. Pete for all those interested in learning Irish dance! Thank you Dr. Michael Higgins and Emma Latham Rushing !!
The Weapons table was soooo very busy! It is always a big attraction. Thank you to to Billy Fisher for sharing your weapons from days of yore' with our Irish Village once again. There were some weapon display contributions for the table by Larry Caldwell , Janette Pomeroy, Matthew Mitchell & Skip DeMontozon. .
There were TONS of folks that volunteered to stamp passports, play the Ring Game with the children, share their experiences in Irish travel, and to be all around help in the village. You are all the BEST!! Please give these folks a round of applause! (I hope I got everybody's name in)
Anne L. Hall Cheri Adams Christian Arial Mike Decker & Deborah Decker Denise & Tommy Williams Eileen Burke Ellyn Mae Ingalls Gregory A Hill Jim Duffy Joanna Joe Belec Kathleen Duncan Kathy Mitchell Kerry OReilly Kevin – NWC Kimberly A Gonzalez Laurie Clement Lisa Thomas (Frank Thomas) Lulu Downing & Hannah Meghann Ehling Michael Michael Dennis Lange Mike Ward Mikki Volkema Peter Brennan & Susan Brennan Ralph Sylvester Richard Hughes Sara Flouro Sean O’Roarke Shane – NWC Shell Belle & Ty Thomas & Di Morgan Tom O'Keefe
Thank you to Ann Seidl, Sionaínn Rose O'Dell, Pat Petralia, & Thomas Morgan for keeping the Vintage Celt tables covered!
3 days of non-stop Irish Village excitement and activities... Cultural, Historical, Musical, lots of camaraderie - AND THEN A PARADE!
The St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, Inc. (SPIFFS) PARADE OF NATIONS featured the beautiful clothing and peoples from all of the villages at the International Folk Fair.
They were led by Dunedin Bagpiper Gemma Briggs, followed by the American Legion Post 158 Color Guard, then the The Gulfport Gecko Amalgamated Marching Band, followed by the SPIFFS International Banner with the 24 individuals that were Naturalized on this very afternoon!
This was the 48th year of the SPIFFS organization and it was one of the finest International Fairs I've seen in a long time.
I am grateful to all of our most amazing friends -old and new- that participated in this unique Tampa Bay event that has endured thru the years!
We are looking forward to seeing each of you at our upcoming Suncoast Irish organization HOLIDAY GATHERING and at festivals in the future!
(Please feel free to share your pictures with us)
SLÁINTE AND MANY THANKS,
GOODY & SUNCOAST IRISH OFFICERS
Skip DeMontozon
William "Billy" FIsher
Cheri Adams
Gary Fuller
www.suncoastirish.com
S.I.G.H. HOLIDAY CEILI & CELEBRATION
Our Suncoast Irish Holiday Gathering was a grand celebration event!
Thank you to Mickey Quinn’s Irish Pub for hosting us
and to the fun fellas of the
Paddy O’Furniture Band on Sunday December 3rd.
The food was delicious -thank ya’ Chef McKenna-
& the atmosphere was festive and jovial!
Congrats to our Raffle Basket winners
and thank you to all of the folks that enjoyed
the afternoon with us!
We had the grand opportunity to introduce and welcome our newest SIGH Board Member
Mrs. Sionainn O’Dell.
Welcome to ya, Sionainn and thank you for your past 2 years of volunteering with SIGH and for your continued help with our
Irish Village.
We handed out Certificates of Great Appreciation to our Sponsors and some of
our wonderful & hard-working volunteers!
Shown above is Lori Smith!
