BECKLEY, W. Va. -Beckley first began holding their “Irish / Celtic Weekend” back in the nineties but picked it up again in recent years thanks to funding from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. The celebration returned this year with multiple days of events like crafts, road bowling, and a dance, all themed around the heritage that many in the area share.
“Well, there is a lot of ancestry, you know, from the folks that live here in this area. A lot of our roots come from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England, so it’s just something to celebrate and it works in with Saint Patrick’s Day,” says Jill Moorefield, director of Beckley Events, who organized the celebration.
One event returning for its third year is a sing-along concert, made free through a grant from “Irish Heritage West Virginia Fairs and Festivals.” The concert featured Patrick O’Flaherty, a local musician who got his start in music in Ireland before playing professionally after coming to the States.
O’Flaherty says Irish and Celtic music is popular around the country, including in this area, with local traditional music originating from the European immigrants who worked in the mines, bringing their music with them.
“…The Irish and Scottish, we have jigs, reels, hornpipes, slip jigs, and we have waltzes, different kinds of things, line dancing… you see that in Bluegrass and Country music… You can see all the decent from Scotland and Ireland…” explained O’Flaherty, “…all the old fiddle tunes, and you can hear all the Scottish and the Irish tunes that all the people brought with them when they were working in the woods and when they were working in the coalmines and all that stuff.”
O’Flaherty encourages people to come to the Irish Celtic Weekend next year and says you can go to his website if you’d like to see where he will be playing in the meantime.
The celebration will be continuing in the days after the weekend, with multiple Beckley restaurants bringing Irish and Celtic-themed food to their menus. Moorefield says you can go to the Beckley Events Facebook page and website for more information.
Copyright 2025 WVVA. All rights reserved.