Adams County Irish Festival

P.O. Box 92

McSherrystown, PA 17344

www.adamscountyirishfestival.com

Date: July 1, 2003

Contact: Dan Diviney, 717-624-2542;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The fourth annual Adams County Irish Festival will be held rain or shine on Saturday, July 19, 2003 from 10:30am to 8:00pm at Gettysburg Moose Park.� The park is located in Staban Township on Moose Road just off of US 30 about 1.6 miles east of the U.S. 30 and 15 interchange.

Adams County�s only Irish Festival drew a crowd of 2,000 last year and included local, regional and internationally known musicians and Irish bands, a harper, Irish step dancers, Irish food, music workshops, and art and gift vendors.

Returning entertainers include Heartsounds harp and flute duet from Philadelphia area; Terry Griffith singer/guitarist/songwriter from Pittsburgh; Irish Step Dancers from the Coyle School of Irish Dance; piper Rodney Owens; the 69^th New York Volunteer Infantry; and, the 2^nd Maryland Fifes and Drums.� Also appearing will be Wherligig from Westminster, MD.

The headline performance will be historian, singer, songwriter and leader of the legendary Wolfe Tones, Derek Warfield, with the Sons of Erin.�� Born in Inchicore, Dublin, Derek now calls Kilcock Co. Kildare home when not on tour.� He has written and recorded over 60 songs and ballads.� Through his songs, music and lectures, he reminds the Irish at home and abroad of their debt to patriots of past generations.� His recordings are a must for any serious student of Irish or Irish American history.�

Derek accepted the Heart of America International Peace Award for the Wolfe Tones.� In accepting, he said, �I don�t think you realize it here in America, but music suffered terribly after the Great Hunger and would have perished but for maintaining many of the old traditions.� Add to that the censorship by an occupying and oppressive force and our music was almost extinguished.�� That censorship of historical accounts through music continues today.� His rebel and republican songs were removed from in-flight entertainment on Aer Lingus�s trans-Atlantic flights in late March 2003 when the airline pandered to the sensibilities of a unionist politician.

Derek�s newest album, A Nation Once Again, was released by Kells Music for worldwide distribution on March 11, 2003.� It features the title track voted the world�s most popular song according to a British Broadcasting Network�s December 2002 World Service Poll.� The Wolfe Tones said they were "proud" to have been ranked above bands such as The Beatles, who failed to make the top 10 despite 55 different song nominations.�� More information on Derek can be found at www.derekwarfield.com.

The Festival Committee has again teamed with the Gettysburg Moose to bring two children from Northern Ireland for 4 weeks again this summer through the Children�s Friendship Project for Northern Ireland, Inc (CFPNI).� This program is a peace and friendship building program that fosters understanding and promotes interaction between the Catholic and Protestant teenagers of Northern Ireland, their families, and friends.� More information about the program, including how to become a host family, can be found at www.cfpni.org. They and their host families are expected to attend the Adams County Irish Festival this year.� Other CFPNI children and their host families are also invited.

This program is supported in part by the Adams County Arts Council's STAR Grant Program, which is funded by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, the Adams County Commissioners, and the Borough of Gettysburg.

The Adams Co. Irish Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 19, 2003, from 10:30 am to 8:00 pm.� All are welcome and are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chairs.� Admission will be $8 per adult and children under 12 and parking are free. The festival will feature Irish food, music, music workshops, gifts, crafts and of course Guinness!� Beverage proceeds generated by the Gettysburg Moose will be donated to the CFPNI.� If interested in volunteering the day of the festival, register on the festival website or call.� Check our website for more information at www.adamscountyirishfestival.com, or contact Dan Diviney (717) 624-2542 evenings or by email at [email protected].