Jupiter Irish Fest returned for its annual celebration on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10, celebrating Irish traditions as St. Patrick’s Day approaches.
This year, the event ran from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
“It’s a two day event with music, food, dance, laughter and tears. It brings everyone together in the community to have a good time and enjoy Irish culture. It’s an amazing family atmosphere event,” David McGovern, founder of Jupiter Irish Fest, said.
McGovern held the first Jupiter Irish Fest in March of 2021. The event was created following the start of McGovern’s assistance in the Tequesta Chili Cook Off.
“I have done multiple events for charities over the years but I have always wanted to do my own event to represent where I come from,” McGovern said.
The 2024 Jupiter Irish Fest included Irish music all day from local bands, including Killbillies, Rogue theory, Vertigo U2 tribute band, Tony Cunningham, Niamh Agus Daithi, The Black Throne Pipe Band and Tir na Greine Irish dancers featured as well.
“The music was super cool to hear since it’s representing Irish heritage and I’ve never heard anything like it before,” Avery White-Key, freshman, said.
The Irish Fest also featured cultural food and drinks, supplied by vendors for guests to purchase separately.
“We [had] amazing Irish food, the usual fish and chips, Irish sausage sandwiches, reubens, shepards pie and more,” McGovern said.
With thousands attending, the festival also included a kids and adults competition with prizes available.
“We have about 3000 [people] Saturday and 2000 [people] Sunday that usually attend and there will be costume contests for kids and adults,” McGovern said.
At the event, first responders Captain Bryan Dittmer and Lieutenant Khristy Osmet from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue were present to educate attendees, in addition to a display of information about the fire department.
“We [honored] our first responders on Sunday, as well as three of the community leaders we have lost this year, Edna Runner, Mary Hinton and General Jackson,” McGovern said.
Dr. Arthur Katz, Cardiovascular surgeon; Deborah Cardenas, registered nurse and Clinical Manager for the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) and Mike Durkee, Veteran and Executive Director of Wounded Veterans Relief Fund were some of the honorees at the event.
“It’s really nice to see such honorable people at an event where thousands attend,” White-Key, said.
While the event took place in early March, it required a year-long planning process.
“The process for building and setup never stops, we are always trying to make the event better every year,” McGovern said.
This year’s Irish Fest was the fourth annual festival McGovern held and remained in the Abacoa Neighborhood Development.
“The event means a lot to me, I am very proud of where I come from, as I am proud to be an American. To be able to create something to celebrate means the world to me,” McGovern said.
