2010 Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2010 with a Voyager Pavilion that featured exhibits about past festivals. The Slainte 2010 event's focus was on Milwaukee’s young professional community with an celebration on Thursday night. The Order of Ancient Leprechauns opened their new village along the lakefront.
Cultural exhibits included a display about the Titanic, John McCabe from County Antrim, and Northern Ireland will helped people find their ancestral roots in the genealogy pavilion. Art exhibits featured the work of Frances Sweeney, Fred Fischer, and Peter Quinn.
Entertainers in 2010 included Girsa, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Gaelic Storm, Slide, Cherish the Ladies, La Bottine Souriante, Makem & Spain Brothers, Schooner Fare, Screaming Orphans, Young Dubliners, Cape May Ceili Band, Celtic Tenors, Scythian, and the Hatfield Sisters. Dancers included Kinsella Academy of Irish Dance, McMenamin Irish Dance Academy, Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, Cashel Dennehy School of Irish Dance, Glencastle Irish Dancers, Rince Nia Academy of Irish Dance, Gillan School of Highland Dance, and the Caledonian Scottish Dancers.
The Celtic Roots theme was Northern Ireland. Entertainers included Tom Sweeney, Seamus Kennedy, McPeake, Different Drums of Ireland, Len Graham and Brian Hart, Tommy Sands, Kieran Goss, Kintra, and Bracken.
Four special shows were also held to honor singers and songwriters:
- Thursday was “A Dublin Songbook” led by Eugene Byrne and The Black Brothers
- Friday was “Artists & Songs from Northern Ireland” led by Tommy Sands, Tom Sweeney, and Seamus Kennedy
- Saturday was “The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem” led by Tom Sweeney, and Evans and Doherty
- Sunday was “The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem” led by Mick Moloney and Robbie O’Connell