The Hibernians of the Danbury area had a dream. They wanted a cultural center so they could display and promote the culture of their ancestral home, Ireland. They wanted a place where they could meet to share their stories, sing their songs, learn the Irish language and history, and dance to the music of the fiddle and the drum. They knew that they would need to raise a great sum of money to fulfill their dream. In 1995 Jerry Curran said, "Let's have a festival" in his energetic voice and with Sharon Higgins got the backing of the membership. Mayor Gene Eriquez offered a baseball field in Rogers Park and the GDIF was born. The first year Cherish the Ladies appeared as the skies opened and the sides of the tent had to be held down. The weather didn't improve the next year and the field became a swamp. In 1999 the festival was moved to the beautiful grounds of the Ives Center at WCSU, but hurricane Floyd moved with it. Although challenged by the weather at times, the festival saw bright sunshine most of the days.

In 2001, the festival was scheduled to open just four days after the horror of September 11th. It was decided to go on with the weekend in spite of the sorrow. Many thanked us for providing a place for their families to get away from the terrible pictures on the television. Moving candlelight ceremonies were held at dusk on Friday and Saturday nights. A percentage of the profit was taken to NYC Catholic Charities shortly afterward to help those touched by the devastation.

An army of volunteers helps in the hundreds of jobs to be done over the weekend. Starting on Thursday the electricians and the carpenters work for hours to set-up the grounds. A prayer service is held to ask God's blessings on the weekend, followed by a ham dinner for the workers. On Friday there's more "setting-up" and then we're ready to open.
All weekend there are vendors selling quality Irish goods, entertainers on the main stage and in the cultural tent, a children's area with games and crafts, a beverage tent and a food tent which caters to everyone's tastes. The Hibernians have been running the food tent themselves since 1998.

The GDIF Cultural Tent is the pride and joy of the festival. There are many displays covering Irish topics of both historic and current interest. On the stage are many musicians and speakers sharing their talent. On Saturday night, the stage is home to the wonderful art of ceili dancing.
Many people have led the festival. The first co-chairs were Jerry Curran and Sharon Higgins (Misyak). They were followed by Sharon Higgins and Gene Fedigan, Ginny Dachenhausen and Phil Gallagher, Eileen Alberts and Martin Tuite for three years, followed by Vincent Nolan and Eileen Alberts for two, and presently Eileen Alberts and Paul Grasseler Jr. are leading the way. None of them could have succeeded without the help of all the many volunteers.

In 2007 the dream was getting closer to reality. A building was bought with the help of the funds from the festivals. If you listen closely you can hear the fiddle playing and the toes tapping on Lake Avenue as the Hibernians welcome all those interested in all things Irish to join the Irish Cultural Center. Thank you to all who have attended the festivals over the years. Keep the festival weekend open on your calendar each year and join us in the fun!