The Festival of Lughnasadh

For thousands of years our ancestors have marked the significant moments of the year with seasonal festivals. Lughnasadh (pronounced loon-assah) is a festival of the first fruits of harvest, marking the beginning of the harvest season. In Ireland, it was a time of digging up the first of the potatoes. In the Irish language, the word for the month of August is 'Lunasa', named after the Celtic pagan god Lugh.

(photo from the 1998 movie with Meryl Streep "Dancing at Lughnasa")

The cheerful gatherings in observance of the festival included dancing “to observe and conform with the powerful rhythms of nature and cosmos.” [Celebrate the Solstice.]

Traditionally, small local groups gathered together in a larger cultural unit to celebrate; that provided much of the cohesive force that bound clan to clan. Like the people who have celebrated Lughnasadh through the years, the local groups of set and ceili dancers, musicians, and the Irish community in the Greater Boston and New England area are gathering in August to recall and be part of this traditional festival. The celebration with music, dance and refreshments, takes place at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton, Massachusetts, on August 23, 2008, at 7PM.

Organizers Frank Bane, the president of Ceol Trad, and Maureen McNally are working with a number of well-known Irish organizations who are combining efforts to celebrate Lughnasadh: the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, C.A.R.E. The Eire Society of Boston, the Irish Pastoral Centre (IPC Boston: "a parish without boundaries" - see details of bus trip to the Centre), and The Irish Immigration Centre. The Ceol Traidisiunta na h'Eireann band has been asked to help play the music for the ceili. [Catch these musicians playing for a monthly ceili on the third Sunday of the month at the Hibernian Hall in Watertown (MA).] However, with such a diverse group sponsoring the ceili, they welcome others to play with them that evening! Join in the fun and dance the night away to the sounds of live traditional Irish music.

Contact Frank Bane at (617) 926-8847 or by email at FrankMaryB (at) aol.com for more information. Venue Phone number: 781-821-8291.