Taking place over Sept. 10-12 at the The Lots at Sandcastle, the Pittsburgh Irish Festival will still have all the staples from years past — like sampling Irish food, dancing to Irish music, genealogy exploration, and even petting Irish dogs — but with five new aspects, Pittsburgh City Paper wanted to highlight what’s different about this year’s Irish fest.
Irish Flowers in Bloom
This year’s Cultural Cottage is all about highlighting that unique and wonderful Irish flora. It’s way more than just shamrocks and four-leaf clovers. Check out the cottage and get a whiff of what all the fertile Irish soil has to offer.Irish Comedy
The gift of gab extends beyond just storytelling, the Irish can stitch some sides too. On Fri., Sept. 10 and Sat., Sept. 11, Irish comedians will grace the festival stage, including Sean Finnerty, the first Irish comedian to perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. David Nihill, the first Irish comedian to have a special on Dry Bar Comedy, will also be featured in this new addition to the Festival. Parental advisory, as not all the material is suitable for children.American Football at the Irish Fest
Ireland has its own set of national sports like hurling and Gaelic football, but this is still Pittsburgh. For those who want to enjoy the festival, but don’t want to miss out on the Pittsburgh Steelers or Pitt Panthers games, there will be big screens this year broadcasting both the weekend’s games.Fireworks
Presented by Five Farms Irish Cream, the festival will kick off with a fireworks display on Fri., Sept. 10. Watch the night light up with fluorescent greens, and every other color you can imagine.Irish History
The history of Ireland and the diaspora is storied and incredibly complex. A new exhibit focused on the book A history of Ireland in 100 Words — written by Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh and Gregory Toner — offers a fun way to digest Irish history through ten words used by Irish people.A full schedule of the 2021 Pittsburgh Irish Festival events can be found at the festival's website, pghirishfest.org.
