Butte hosts the world for the An Rí Rá fest

By Brendan McDonough - 08/02/2008

The An Rí Rá Montana Irish Festival will once again be held in historic Uptown Butte next weekend. This event is sponsored by the Montana Gaelic Cultural Society.

An Rí Rá has established itself as one of the premier Irish festivals in North America, and it has a strong international following. Every year on the second weekend in August, Butte hosts the world and shows them our importance in the Irish world, both in the United States and in Ireland.

An Rí Rá presents Irish music and dance that have been performed for hundreds of years in Ireland with traditional songs, tunes, reels, and jigs. The festival also presents some of the world’s best Irish language instructors and lecturers during the weekend for those who desire to learn the native language of Ireland. There are also many educational opportunities which include genealogy workshops, an author lecture series, films and Celtic mythology workshops.

The hospitality of Butte people and our friends across Montana have created energy for our festival recognized by performers from all over the world. An Rí Rá is in constant contact with the world’s best Irish musicians, dancers, scholars, and instructors who want to come to Butte and experience our town and its people.

There has always been some discussion as to why we charge admission to attend An Rí Rá. There are several reasons for our decision to charge admission. The first is that the festival is designed to be a fund-raiser to sustain the Montana Gaelic Cultural Society’s activities on a year-round basis. The society is a nonprofit organization that promotes the Irish culture through educational and entertainment opportunities for the people of Montana and beyond. In order to have the operating funds to host these activities or to help sponsor them, MGCS needs some operating capital.

The second reason for charging admission is the fact that the MGCS is trying to raise enough funds to establish an Irish Cultural Centre for the people of Montana in Uptown Butte. This cultural center will play a major factor in Butte’s ability to continue to promote cultural activities in our community as well as providing a significant boost to our local economy. It would bring tourists, scholars, lecturers, performers and instructors of all things Irish to Butte, America. It would solidify our position with the people of Ireland and the Irish government of the significant role that Butte and Montana hold in the Irish world in the past, today and into the future.

Finally, the last reason admission is charged is to cover the costs of hosting people from all over the world in historic Uptown Butte. These festivals have substantial budgets that need to be covered each year, and a portion of the expenses are underwritten by our corporate sponsors and individual donors who make all of this happen. Without our sponsors, we could not host the event, and we would not be able to charge such reasonable fees for admission. The admission fee for a weekend pass allows access to multiple performances, and if you were to attend a regular two-hour concert outside of the festival, the fee would be the same for the concert as the entire weekend pass for the festival.

An Rí Rá was a major selling point in attracting the National Folk Festival to Butte for three years. I am intimately involved in both festivals, and I know the significance that the Montana Irish Festival played in the National Council for the Traditional Arts’ decision to pick Butte as the host city. The festivals are similar in our efforts to promote real cultural acts presenting the real traditions of a region. As many of you know, the national festival was a resounding success for Butte.

I would encourage all of you who enjoyed yourselves at the National Folk Festival to come and join us for the An Rí Rá Montana Irish Festival. An Rí Rá is a festival model that was created and refined on a homegrown level by local people interested in our Irish heritage and the well-being of our town. Butte should be so proud of these festivals and what they have done for our image, infrastructure, economy, and morale. I look forward to seeing you on Park Street for another great celebration!

— Brendan R. McDonough is a member of the An Ri Ra Executive Committee and is also the festival coordinator for the National Folk Festival in Butte. He can be reached via e-mail at bmcdonough@bresnan.net.