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Event

St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1997

Also 31st Annual Clan Na Gael Festivities and Games · 1997 St. Patrick's Day Dance

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Dates1997-03-14 – 1997-03-15
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Dates
1997-03-14 – 1997-03-15
Kind
Celebration
Where
The Shamrock · Holy Cross Parish Hall
Carried out by
Holy Cross Altar Society
Followed by
St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1998
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
celebrationcommunityheritageirish-arranmore
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

The Beaver Beacon’s March 1997 issue announces two linked island programs: a Friday, March 14 Holy Cross Altar Society dance at Holy Cross Hall, and a Saturday, March 15 Clan Na Gael “Festivities and Games” at the Shamrock; its April 1997 issue reports the Games in full detail as “a record year of fun and merriment,” with named winners for each event.

Program

Friday, March 14: a Holy Cross Altar Society dance at Holy Cross Hall, with happy hour at 5:30, dancing from 7:00 to a band called “Ourselves,” and a 10:00 buffet ($15/couple, $8/single). Saturday, March 15, at the Shamrock: the Shopping Cart Race (won by “The Shamrock Bar” team — Lenny Merriam, Blaine Loggerman, Bob Alexander, Denise “O’Donnell,” Dean Peters), the Tug O’War (tied, Fishchokers vs. Hayseeders), Pitch-A-Pike (won by Ernest Martin and Beth Hansen), “The Big Bust,” the Fish Stomp, the Limerick Contest (tied between Bea Boyle and Rich Gillespie), and the King and Queen Contest (5 couples). The Old Rectory separately ran a St. Patrick’s Week Irish buffet dinner March 14-15.

Evidence limits

The Games results are a detailed contemporary account with named winners, but not an attendance figure or financial record. The Altar Society dance is named as the dance’s sponsor, but no source found here names an organizing body for the Clan Na Gael Games themselves beyond the “Clan Na Gael” name; carried_out_by here reflects only the dance’s attributed sponsor. The same February 1997 issue’s announcement of the Beaver Island Club of Grand Rapids’ “31st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration” describes the separate diaspora party, not this island program.

Open questions

  • Who were the Clan Na Gael’s members/organizers in 1997 (Kathy Maudrie is named as the closing poem’s author, consistent with her role in 1995)?

See also

Sources

  1. Announces "Join us for the Clan Na Gael's Festivities and Games (Saturday, March 15, at The Shamrock)." The same issue separately announces a "St. Patrick's Day Dance -- Holy Cross Hall -- (Holy Cross Altar Society), FRIDAY, MARCH 14," with band "Ourselves," happy hour, and a 10:00 buffet, and a St. Patrick's Week Irish buffet at the Old Rectory, March 14-15 (no article exists for the Old Rectory as a structure). The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-03_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held sixteen-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-03_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Reports the Games' results: Shopping Cart Race (won by "The Shamrock Bar" team), Tug O'War (a tie between Fishchokers and Hayseeders), Pitch-A-Pike, The Big Bust, Fish Stomp, Limerick Contest (tied between Bea Boyle and Rich Gillespie), and the King and Queen Contest (5 couples entered). Closes with a poem by Kathy Maudrie noting "The Clan-Na-Gael and the hosts of the Shamrock Bar[] Have enjoyed the past ten years," consistent with a founding around 1987-1988. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-04_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held twenty-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-04_Beaver-Beacon
  5. Announces the separate Grand Rapids diaspora party, not this island edition. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-02_Beaver-Beacon
  6. The held sixteen-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-02_Beaver-Beacon

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1997”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-st-patricks-day-1997/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, March 1997, "St. Patrick's Day Celebration!" (and 5 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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