SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Long before this month’s Irish festival and feis weekend, Syracuse earned its reputation as one of the most Irish cities in the state.
Irish immigrants first settled in what is now Tipperary Hill in the 1820s while working on the Erie Canal, and the neighborhood took its name in the 1860s from County Tipperary, home to many of the families who stayed. The Great Famine and the growth of the region’s salt industry drew even more Irish immigrants to the city. As of 2024, nearly one in five Onondaga County residents reported Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The neighborhood’s Irish identity continues to shape daily life on the hill, from Coleman’s Irish Pub, a social hub since 1933, to a full calendar of Irish-themed events year-round.
That identity was on full display again this month. The Downtown Syracuse Irish Festival brought crowds to Clinton Square on Sept. 11-12, with acts including The Elders, Goitse, Aoife Scott, The Causeway Giants and headliner Haggis X-1.
The festival featured Irish step dancers, face painting and an annual Irish Mass. Organizers paused briefly for a moment of remembrance marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
This weekend, the city’s competitive Irish dance scene takes center stage with a double feis at the SRC Arena and Event Center at Onondaga Community College. Saturday’s Salt City Feis, hosted by the McDonald School of Irish Dance and its parent nonprofit, the McDonald Celtic Circle, marked the event’s first year. Amy Metz, who has run previous feiseanna, choreographed the new competition, which organizers named for Syracuse’s history as the “Salt City.”
The event doubles as a fundraiser for the McDonald Celtic Circle, which helps offset costs for competitive dance students, including school costumes and fees for community events such as the Syracuse St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Sunday’s Syracuse Feis, hosted by the Johnston School of Irish Dance, has run for more than half a century, the longest continually running feis in the country. Saturday’s Salt City Feis is in its first year, and organizers scheduled it to pair with the Syracuse Feis, giving dancers and families a full weekend of competition.
The pairing isn’t entirely new, since last year’s Syracuse Feis was also billed as a double feis weekend, with Butler Sheehan Academy of Irish Dance. Judges for the two events traveled from as far as New Jersey and Scotland, and participating schools came from New England and Canada.
For the dancers themselves, the weekend is about more than competition, said Elizabeth LaRochelle, co-chair of the Salt City Feis.
“They love coming together. They love celebrating their culture, whether they’re Irish or not,” LaRochelle said. “They love to celebrate Irish culture at these events, and there is definitely a sense of camaraderie among the dancers that comes out of having them attend these events together.”
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Syracuse “Double Feis” Weekend
John Tangel: It’s called a feis — an Irish dance competition. This weekend, it’s happening twice in the same arena. Saturday’s Salt City Feis is brand new this year, run by the McDonald School of Irish Dance, and it’s more than just competition.
Elizabeth LaRochelle: This event for us is actually a very big fundraising event … there’s costumes to purchase… there’s parade fees that we have to pay for.
Tangel: On Sunday, the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College turns over for the Syracuse Feis, hosted by the Johnston School of Irish Dance. Brian Kotlarz is the labor crew leader at OCC. He says even with the quick turnaround between events, it still benefits the host as well.
Brian Kotlarz: I think it brings an interest for students and stuff like that to like, get associated with the college … it’s a unique area because you have, like, the parking and like, the facilities and everything like that.
Tangel: For other organizers like Chantal Wentworth-Mullin, the spotlight shouldn’t be on herself or the arena.
Chantal Wentworth-Mullin: And for the schools, I think it’s really important. It not only highlights the talent of all of these dancers but it gets the word out to the community that this is another form of dance that’s viable.
Tangel: It’s the latest sign that Syracuse’s Irish culture isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s a year-round draw. The double feis runs Saturday and Sunday right here, at the SRC Arena on the OCC campus. John Tangel, NCC News.