San Antonio, Texas

The Harp and Shamrock Society of Texas sponsors the festival and it was all day on Saturday, March 8th. The festival is at the grounds of the University of the Incarnate Word.

The festival included a Gaelic football tournament, a week-early St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and live music.

San Antonio was uncharacteristically cold and rainy during the South Texas Alamo Irish Festival. The hearty Irish showed up anyway, but the wimpy Irish did not. Event turnout could have been better, but the festival went on as planned.

Those who attended, including ClanDonnell, had a great time. We shared a booth with San Antonio’s Hibernians, told a few Irish tales, and sold a few books.

Besides the rain, the festival suffered from gusts of heavy winds. One vendor’s event tent blew down and the vendor was forced to leave early. We all helped her pack her van quickly so that her delicate wares did not get overly wet.

The event started with a great parade and continued with non-stop music.

University of Incarnate Word student-run television filmed a video of the festival, but I cannot find it online.

Parade photograph by Linda McDonnell