Irish eyes will be smiling at this halfway-to-St. Patrick’s Day event.
Long Grove’s annual Irish Days festival hours are 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Aug. 31, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept 1 and 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 2 in the heart of downtown Long Grove. Visitors will enjoy bagpipers, folk bands and Irish dancers in addition to Irish foods, beer and the festival’s always-entertaining contests.
Long Grove Country House merchant John Kopecky serves as organizer and master of ceremonies of Irish Days, which has been happening since 2001.
“The only thing that changes is that once an Irish performer performs for us, we pretty much keep adding another day,” he joked.
The days are chock-full of Irish performers, including Irish dance schools, musicians and bands.
“We have this U2 band (Without U2) and they’re fabulous. This fellow is really good,” he said. “They played last year and really wowed the crowd. He had costume changes and he would go out and sing with the girls in the audience and then go back onstage.”
Without U2 performs at 6 p.m. Aug. 31.
The Chicago-based Shannon Rovers Pipe Band perform each day of the fest.
“Which is really great,” Kopecky said. “If you haven’ t seen a pipe band play an instrument that’s impossible to tune, all in tune walking and playing — there are sometimes 20 of them. Usually, I start off by talking about how the pipes were used in a time of war or a time of joy … the bagpipes are synonymous with so much in that part of the world.”
Other performers Aug. 31 at Irish Days include the Academy of Irish Music, the McNulty School of Irish Dance, The Chancers and The Larkin and Moran Brothers. On Sept. 1, look for performances from the Trinity School of Dance, Gavin Coyle, the Dooleys and Jimmy Moore, McNulty School of Dance and The Joyce Boys. On Sept. 2, performers include Hogan School of Dance, Kathleen Keane and Jim Conway and headliners The Boils.
Canta Napoli in Mount Prospect will sell Irish-inspired food while DJ Dogs will sell kid-friendly food.
One of the most anticipated events at Irish Days is the Best Men’s Legs in a Kilt contest, where interested male contestants should wear their best kilt (or borrow one from organizers for no charge) and register to strut their stuff on stage. The contest takes place on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Winners get a trophy and bragging rights.
“I pick three girls from the audience and they’re the judges,” Kopecky said. “We have them dance … and then each one will answer a question. We play some music and the guys show off a little bit. Then we find out who’s the top guy. Everybody wants to know who’s second, but there’s no prize for that.”
Kopecky tells a funny story about how one year an Irish band performed in kilts but went au natural underneath.
“They were doing cartwheels,” he said of the band. “Paddy Barry banned them. But Paddy Barry could never hold a grudge.”
Barry, owner of The Irish Boutique/Paddy’s on the Square, celebrated 50 years in business in 2023.q
“The sleeping dog in all of this is the Irish Dog Competition,” Kopecky said.
That is held Sept. 1 and 2 and entails dogs in costume looking to be named Irish Doggie king, queen, prince and princess. The contest is free to enter and is open to any dog whose owner registers them the day-of at the competition area located at the ticket booth.
“I pick three young kids from the audience … because they’re not prejudiced with breed when they’re really young. They just pick the best dog,” he said.
A face painter will be on hand by the Wee Ones tent, he said. There will also be an Irish genealogist and a poet on hand, he said. An Irish mass with Fathers Tim Fairman and Matt Jamesson is at 10 a.m. Sept. 1. Musical accompaniment is by Gavin Coyle, who will perform a set afterwards as well.
“When you come to Irish Days … we have so many characters and everybody is so welcoming and so friendly,” he said.
“I think you’ll enjoy the music. Definitely the food and the camaraderie is good,” he said. “It’s got a flavor all its own.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
Irish Days
When: Aug. 31-Sept. 2
Where: Fountain Square, 228 Robert Parker Coffin Road, Long Grove
Tickets: Free
Information: 847-634-0888; longgrove.org/festival/irish-days
