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Event

St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1990

Also St. Patrick's Day 1990

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Dates1990-03-16 – 1990-03-17
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Dates
1990-03-16 – 1990-03-17
Kind
Celebration
Where
The Shamrock · Holy Cross Parish Hall
Followed by
St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1991
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
celebrationcommunityheritageirish-arranmore
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

The Beaver Beacon’s February 1990 calendar and March 1990 feature article document a two-day program: a Friday Shamrock Bar dance, and a Saturday, March 17 parade followed by a full slate of Clan-Na-Gael games — a Shopping Cart Race, Tug-O-War, “Pin the Tail on the Shamrock,” a Mystery Relay, and a King and Queen contest — plus a Holy Cross Church Hall dinner and dance.

Program

Saturday, March 17: a parade led by Deputy Jim Owens; the Shopping Cart Race (Shamrock Bar to the telephone booth, through town to the museum, and back); the annual Tug-O-War (Hayseeders vs. Fishchokers, “no motorized tugging allowed”); “Pin the Tail on the Shamrock”; a Mystery Relay (a baseball-bat spin-and-fish-carry relay); and a King and Queen contest judged on “unusual dancing abilities” and wit. The calendar separately lists a March 16 Shamrock Bar dance and a March 17 Holy Cross Church Hall dinner and dance.

Evidence limits

The games account explicitly credits Kevin Green as “the man who got us started” and names a “Clan-Na-Gael Team,” but no organization article for Clan-Na-Gael exists in this knowledge base, so carried_out_by is left empty rather than invented; the credited individuals and the group name are recorded in prose only. The article gives full results for the games but does not separately report attendance or proceeds for the Holy Cross Church Hall dinner and dance named on the calendar. No Chicago, Lansing, or Grand Rapids diaspora party is mentioned in the sections read for this year.

Open questions

  • Was 1990 the third annual Clan-Na-Gael festivities, consistent with the 1992 edition’s count of a “5th Annual” in 1992 (which would place a first edition in 1988, a year with no held Beacon issue in this knowledge base)?
  • What was the outcome of the March 17 Holy Cross Church Hall dinner and dance named on the calendar but not otherwise described in the games report?

See also

Sources

  1. Calendar entries: "March 16: St. Patrick's Day Dance - Shamrock Bar" and "March 17: St. Patrick's Day - Dinner & Dance Holy Cross Church Hall." 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 · 1990-02_Beaver-Beacon
  2. 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 · 1990-02_Beaver-Beacon
  3. Reports, in full: a Saturday, March 17 parade led by Deputy Jim Owens, won by Chuck and Crystal McGinnity's Irish Clown costumes; the Shopping Cart Race (Shamrock to telephone booth to museum and back), won by "Gillespie's Get Up and Go's"; the annual Tug-O-War (Hayseeders vs. Fishchokers, won by the Fishchokers); "Pin the Tail on the Shamrock," described as honoring "our founder and Clan-Na-Gael leader, Kevin Green," won by KK Belfy (adult) and Christie Heller (children); the Mystery Relay; and the King and Queen contest, won by Ernestine Martin and Kevin Barry McDonough. Thanks are given by name to the Shamrock Bar, McDonough's Market, "the Clan-Na-Gael Team" (named as Cindy and Kathy Gillespie, Denise McDonough, Fran Clarkson, Paul Cole), emcee Robert Cole, and "the man who got us started, Kevin Green." 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 · 1990-03_Beaver-Beacon
  4. The held twenty-two-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 · 1990-03_Beaver-Beacon

Added 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “St. Patrick's Day on Beaver Island, 1990”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-st-patricks-day-1990/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, February 1990, calendar page. (and 3 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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