From The Desk Of The President

Kansas City Irish Fest president Ed Follis is about as busy as a man can get in these final few weeks before we open the gates on Irish Fest 09. But he's found time to give you the inside skinny on some of Irish Fest's brand-news. This is the first in a series of upcoming presidential posts between now and the fest.

Rounding Third and Heading For Home

One of the things that I am looking forward to most as we get closer to this year’s festival is the “Irish in Baseball” display in the Heritage Area. Like many of my generation, I was fortunate enough to grow up watching the Royals during their glory days. One of my greatest memories was being at Game 7 watching the Royals win the 1985 World Series. I’ve been a huge baseball fan since I was six years old. It was my grandfather (who was from County Monaghan) who introduced me to baseball. Until recently, I never really stopped to think about it, but there are a lot of players just from the Royals’ history who have Irish roots. Names like Fran Healy, Al Fitzmorris, Jamie Quirk, Dennis Leonard, and Pat Sheridan are just a few. Current Royals Mark Teahan and Billy Butler also have Irish roots. As you all know, Dan Regan does an incredible job on the Irish Fest blog. Dan is combining his passion for Irish Fest and his love of baseball to put together this year’s display in the Heritage Area. As a huge baseball fan, I really look forward to spending time checking out the display and learning more about the Irish in baseball. Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, I think you’ll really enjoy this year’s display.

Ed Follis, President KC Irish Fest