Burning Bridget Cleary, Seamus Kennedy and Celtic Dance Featured at Savannah Irish Festival 2015

For over 22 years the Savannah Irish Festival has been bringing traditional Irish Music, Laughter and Dance to Savannah.

The elegant 18th century city of Savannah is the host of the Savannah Irish Festival held February 13th thru 15th at the Savannah Civic Center.  Featuring Celtic Musical acts, Irish Dance and a Friday night Ceili (Gaelic for Party).

Founded in 1733, Savannah was the southernmost major urban centre in British North America and boasts splendid Georgian, Federalist and Victorian architecture clustered around graceful squares. Savannah was spared destruction during the American Civil War due to artful negotiations between a  Union Army massed outside Savannah and the City Fathers: “ It was a terrifying moment: 62,000 of Sherman’s men marching south from the ruins of Atlanta. Rather than face destruction, the city’s fathers chose to surrender. Sherman entered Savannah three days before Christmas…” (NYTimes-Kevin Boyle, October 2008).

This year’s Festival includes performances of Irish dance by The Irish Dancers of Savannah and the Legacy Irish Dance Academy with a performance by the Savannah Pipes and Drums.

Musical entertainment includes Burning Bridget Cleary, known for their “…captivating sound and engaging stage presence”. The band have been steadily rising in prestige and popularity on the Celtic Festival circuit. Interviewed by Transceltic in 2014, Rose Baldino who pays banjo, fiddle and performs vocals stated: " I’d like to think we are ambassadors of Celtic culture. The band members genuinely love Irish and Celtic music and we are trying to showcase the music to people who maybe are not familiar with it.”

Burning Bridget Cleary has been included in the “Top 20” list of international Celtic bands for 2014 published by Marc Gunn, an award-winning podcaster nicknamed the “Celtfather.” In March the band begins their tenth year performing at Celtic festivals. With success their travels have included performances in the eastern half of the US and Ireland.  Burning Bridget Cleary are presently working on their fifth full-length CD, with a planned spring release.  Their latest single, “Another Day” was the #1 song on the Folk DJ Charts for October 2014. 

Another performer this year is Seamus Kennedy. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Seamus Kennedy has been entertaining audiences all over the United States for almost four decades. His huge repertoire includes traditional Irish music, classic Country & Western, American standards and Scottish ballads. Also performing in Savannah are The McKrells, Open the Door for Three, Gabriel Donohue, Tom O’Carroll, Harry O’Donoghue, the Glor na Daire Dancers, Irish Dancers of Savannah, Savannah Pipes and Drums, the Savannah Ceili Band and more

• Savannah Irish Festival

  • When: February 13 - 15,  2015
  • Where: Savannah, Georgia
  • Website: www.savannahirish.org