Pittsburgh Irish Festival bringing sights, sounds, tastes of Irish culture with new features

SWISSVALE, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Irish Festival is returning for its 34th year, bringing the sights, sounds and tastes of Irish culture.

The festival will be held Sept. 5-7 at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark, located in Swissvale.

Organizers highlighted the new features making their debut at this year’s festival.

To celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers heading to Ireland in September, the festival will offer football activities, prizes and giveaways Sept. 6.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 6, guests will get to indulge in traditional Irish breakfast foods like bangers, black and white pudding, eggs and scones. There’s a limited quantity of food, and guests are told to order in advance at pghirishfest.org/breakfast.

Musicians will perform a unique blend of Irish traditional music and West African Ghanaian music. Performers include drum ensemble Raymond Odai Laryea amd Ekome Femo and Irish musicians Dylan James and Colin Harte.

The festival will offer several sessions focused on Celtic wellness for all ages Sept. 6-7, incorporating elements of meditation, music and yoga. A full schedule of sessions can be found at pghirishfest.org.

A new exhibit will showcase Ireland’s 32 counties, showing what makes each of them unique.

Also, the festival is bringing back its Stone Circle Strongman, offering a chance to try and lift the “McClurg Manhood Stones” for a $10 donation. More daring visitors can register for the “King of the Stones” competition, which offers cash prizes and the potential to qualify for the pro division of “America’s Strongest Stonelifter” happening in Vista, Calif., Sept. 20-21. To learn more or preregister, click here.

Other activities at the festival include a Gaelic sports program and demos, Carrie Furnace mini tours, Five Arms Irish Cream Celtic Kitchen, A Taste of Ireland, music session tent, Irish authors’ corner, and more.

For more information on the festival, click here.

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