When he came to the midst of the Fair,
He was all in a paugh for fresh air,
For the Fair very soon,
Was as full as the moon,
Such mobs upon mobs as was there . . .
by Charles O'Flaherty
Clann McAteer was the honored clan at the 2001 Milwaukee Irish Festival. As the guest clan, we were supposed to have our own tent, but as it turned out we were given the entire Koss Building. That sort of set the tone for everything that followed. The IrishFest (which draws over a hundred thousand visitors in its four day run), exceeded our most optimistic projections to be sure.
In the photo above, a small
crown
* of McAteers has gathered outside the Koss
Building, after the parade, to pose for picture taking. Over their heads, you
can see the clan banner of the Irish delegation (white), the banner of the
American branch of the clan (yellow), and a few of the many flags representing
the lands from which people traveled to take part. The flags of the U.S. and
the Tricolour of the Irish Republic can be seen at the back, under the Koss
Building sign.
There is a blue eye which will look back to Ireland;
Saint Columcille, A.D. 563
Over three hundred McAteers signed in - we have no way of knowing how many (like myself) visited and didn't realize there was a guest book. The delegation from Ireland was some thirty strong, and in addition the various Irish governments (municipal, regional, national) sent people too, including our own member of parliament for Newry and Mourne, The Honourable Mr. P. J. Bradley (of McAteer descent, who can be seen at the right of the photo, front row, in a red shirt, kneeling).
Safe to say a good time was had by all. We must salute the people
of Milwaukee, and surrounding area, who were exemplary hosts. They
are courteous, kind, and helpful. We all had a very pleasant stay.
Another salute is due Liz Mateer Gary and the American Team, who spent all their spare time over the last two years organizing things. Everything that could be planned, was. It all ran like clockwork. Congratulations on a job well done. In the photo above, we see a tired but satisfied Liz, thanking the IrishFest management and presenting them with the stone on which the Goban Saoir, Mr. Enda McAteer, carved the clan crest. That's Liz at the right (wearing a Clan Mhac IrishFest t-shirt), with the microphone.
We do not yet have many pictures, but they should begin to flood in soon, and so will the stories to go with them. We will put up as much as we can at the website for you to see. Please bear with us - it will take a while.
(* crown - Collective noun - as in a pride of lions, or a crowd of people.)
of Erin |