March 17th Fell on a Tuesday; Sorry We Don't Do Weekends...
Today is the 26th of March and I can now finally put pen to paper for my blog. It really does take a while to not just recover from the day but after all the anticipation its almost as if it is the culmination of the Irish Pub Year.
First of all the staff and volunteer staff have to be mentioned and thanked for their hard work and dedication to the day and to the pub. So Catherine, Dean, Diarm, Liam, Geza, Jessie, Max, Jim, Tommy, Katie, Scott, Will, Jeff, Fausto, Hunter, Mrs. Duddy, Amanda, and Kristin, without all of your help we could not do St. Patrick's Day.
Also thanks to my family members who made long journeys to join us for the day. Conor and Dolly came from Fenit County Kerry with their friends Mike and Katie and all four made great new friends at the bar. Siobhan, Frank and Gary came from Dublin, and its always such a pleasure to share a pint with Frank and Siobhan, my sister. Siobhan celebrated her birthday while she was here and Frank and I took her to Foley's in Boston where they treated us very well and the pint was very good, so when in Boston, visit J.J. Foley's.
My brother John and his beautiful wife Katrina also joined us from Dubai. Again they quickly made many friends at the pub and some people are now planning a trip to Dubai to visit him. It was especially nice to spend time with Katrina and John after St. Patrick's Day, when we could relax and talk of ordinary things.
Last mention goes to Thomas Hogan, from Tiperary, who was with us for two weeks. Tom was loved by all and inspired all by the way he was willing to help. Thank you Tom, and thanks to my sister Amber, Tommy's wife who was good enough to let him visit with us for the holiday.
And without you the customers, it would be no fun, so to all that showed up thank you. I hope you did not wait too long to get a pint.
The day itself was bright and sunny and the parade made it seem even brighter and sunnier. Lots of smiles all along State Street. Beautiful children sitting on the sidewalk waving flags, senior citizens on the steps of City Hall, the helicopter leading us off, the New London Pipers, the Local Police, the State Police, the Emerald Society, the National Guard, the Carpenter's Union, Jibboom Club, Rugby Club, Mystic Pipe and Drum, New London High School Marching band, they were all greatly enjoyed.
Ours is definitly not the biggest parade but its got soul. How can I even mention the parade without thanking Abbey and Thor? Many times I wanted to say "Forget about this, nobody cares, why should we bother?" but these two kept going against all sorts of obstacles to see it through.
On the march, they both were smiling proudly as they witnessed the crowds that came out and stood there cheering them. For their efforts they received nothing and they asked for nothing, and they want to do it again next year. I can not say enough about these two people, to say thank you just seems not enough.
We did have sponsors for the parade, because it does cost quite a bit of money to put this event together. Thank you to Mike Buscetto, Levine Distributors of Norwich, Carpenter's Local Union, and pwop.net. Mike Buscetto, your help and guidance (and sponsorship) went a long way to make this happen. New London, New London, New London, the little town that wouldn't die, why would you not sponsor the parade in your own town? Are we not big enough, are you unwilling to bet on the town where your business is? If you don't believe in it what chance do we have, and why do you even stay here? Move to the place where you sponsor their parade.
Yes, we have our parade on St. Patrick's Day, be it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Just like the city its all real here for better or for worse. We have great ideas for next year and with the power of Abbey and Thor they will continue the great event it has become.
The music for the day started out with Wheelhouse. They've been together for almost a year. Gene, Carl, Amie, and Art set the bar high with good vibes. Following were Chris Castle and Tony Schaffer from Ohio, or maybe not as Hanafin's have adopted these fine musicians as our own. We can never get enough of these guys. Next up, Ryan, Brian and Flowers & Kain did not disappoint. These guys are always a crowd pleaser, and may have been the crowd favorite for the day. Even after their set people were still arriving hoping to see them, Great Job fellers, keep it up.
Addison Station, from the East Lyme area, had original songs and great covers. If you've never seen this band, pay the $5 next time they're around and enjoy.
The Franklin Brothers, with the fabulous Ian Kelly and Marci were next, and put on another great act.
Columbia Fields (from the Hartford area) played great original music, and are such great musicians we're sure they have a bright future. They are getting to be a regular act down at the pub, so come down and check them out too. We finished the night off with Elevation, Paul and the crew playing great covers of all your U2 favorites.
So another St. Patrick's Day is over, did you all enjoy yourselves? The pints flowed, the music played, the dancers danced and the parade marched. The sun shone, the helo flew; little parade, big party in a little city with a big heart. Come join us next year, the construction will be finished and we will have a beautiful entrance to State Street. We will make it shine again.
See you soon,
D.
First of all the staff and volunteer staff have to be mentioned and thanked for their hard work and dedication to the day and to the pub. So Catherine, Dean, Diarm, Liam, Geza, Jessie, Max, Jim, Tommy, Katie, Scott, Will, Jeff, Fausto, Hunter, Mrs. Duddy, Amanda, and Kristin, without all of your help we could not do St. Patrick's Day.
Also thanks to my family members who made long journeys to join us for the day. Conor and Dolly came from Fenit County Kerry with their friends Mike and Katie and all four made great new friends at the bar. Siobhan, Frank and Gary came from Dublin, and its always such a pleasure to share a pint with Frank and Siobhan, my sister. Siobhan celebrated her birthday while she was here and Frank and I took her to Foley's in Boston where they treated us very well and the pint was very good, so when in Boston, visit J.J. Foley's.
My brother John and his beautiful wife Katrina also joined us from Dubai. Again they quickly made many friends at the pub and some people are now planning a trip to Dubai to visit him. It was especially nice to spend time with Katrina and John after St. Patrick's Day, when we could relax and talk of ordinary things.
Last mention goes to Thomas Hogan, from Tiperary, who was with us for two weeks. Tom was loved by all and inspired all by the way he was willing to help. Thank you Tom, and thanks to my sister Amber, Tommy's wife who was good enough to let him visit with us for the holiday.
And without you the customers, it would be no fun, so to all that showed up thank you. I hope you did not wait too long to get a pint.
The day itself was bright and sunny and the parade made it seem even brighter and sunnier. Lots of smiles all along State Street. Beautiful children sitting on the sidewalk waving flags, senior citizens on the steps of City Hall, the helicopter leading us off, the New London Pipers, the Local Police, the State Police, the Emerald Society, the National Guard, the Carpenter's Union, Jibboom Club, Rugby Club, Mystic Pipe and Drum, New London High School Marching band, they were all greatly enjoyed.
Ours is definitly not the biggest parade but its got soul. How can I even mention the parade without thanking Abbey and Thor? Many times I wanted to say "Forget about this, nobody cares, why should we bother?" but these two kept going against all sorts of obstacles to see it through.
On the march, they both were smiling proudly as they witnessed the crowds that came out and stood there cheering them. For their efforts they received nothing and they asked for nothing, and they want to do it again next year. I can not say enough about these two people, to say thank you just seems not enough.
We did have sponsors for the parade, because it does cost quite a bit of money to put this event together. Thank you to Mike Buscetto, Levine Distributors of Norwich, Carpenter's Local Union, and pwop.net. Mike Buscetto, your help and guidance (and sponsorship) went a long way to make this happen. New London, New London, New London, the little town that wouldn't die, why would you not sponsor the parade in your own town? Are we not big enough, are you unwilling to bet on the town where your business is? If you don't believe in it what chance do we have, and why do you even stay here? Move to the place where you sponsor their parade.
Yes, we have our parade on St. Patrick's Day, be it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Just like the city its all real here for better or for worse. We have great ideas for next year and with the power of Abbey and Thor they will continue the great event it has become.
The music for the day started out with Wheelhouse. They've been together for almost a year. Gene, Carl, Amie, and Art set the bar high with good vibes. Following were Chris Castle and Tony Schaffer from Ohio, or maybe not as Hanafin's have adopted these fine musicians as our own. We can never get enough of these guys. Next up, Ryan, Brian and Flowers & Kain did not disappoint. These guys are always a crowd pleaser, and may have been the crowd favorite for the day. Even after their set people were still arriving hoping to see them, Great Job fellers, keep it up.
Addison Station, from the East Lyme area, had original songs and great covers. If you've never seen this band, pay the $5 next time they're around and enjoy.
The Franklin Brothers, with the fabulous Ian Kelly and Marci were next, and put on another great act.
Columbia Fields (from the Hartford area) played great original music, and are such great musicians we're sure they have a bright future. They are getting to be a regular act down at the pub, so come down and check them out too. We finished the night off with Elevation, Paul and the crew playing great covers of all your U2 favorites.
So another St. Patrick's Day is over, did you all enjoy yourselves? The pints flowed, the music played, the dancers danced and the parade marched. The sun shone, the helo flew; little parade, big party in a little city with a big heart. Come join us next year, the construction will be finished and we will have a beautiful entrance to State Street. We will make it shine again.
See you soon,
D.
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