It was a good weekend to be Irish. The Irish American Club of Southern Minnesota held its 56th annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on Saturday, March 16.
The day of celebrations started with Irish music performed at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 10 a.m., followed by mass. During the mass, this year’s Mr. And Mrs. Emerald Isle, Joe and Kathy Groh, were crowned.
After mass, at about noon, families gathered for a parade of clans, which started at the church, crossed Old Highway 14, went around the block past the Starfire restaurant, and ended at The Mill, where everyone gathered for a rally. The rally included a mulligan stew and a corned beef and cabbage lunch by Blake’s Food Truck. The rest of the afternoon included an Irish Auction and bingo.
The main event was the crowning of Miss St. Patrick and Miss Irish Rose. Five candidates were looking to become southern Irish-American royalty: Layla Keith, a sophomore at Waseca; Ava Bruhn, a sophomore at Waseca; Isabella Schultz, a junior of Owatonna; Erin Gunderson, a senior at Waseca; and Ava Appel, a junior at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton.
Keith, daughter of Muriah Miller Keith and Joe Keith, was the first to display her talent, a vocal solo of “Lady of Knock,” written by Irish singer Dana Rosemary Scallon and based on the Irish Hymn “Our Lady of Knock.” Appel, daughter of Sheila Jewison and Jesse Appel, also performed a slightly different version of “Lady of Knock” for her vocal solo. Both Keith and Appel’s performances of the Irish hymn impressed the judges, as Keith was crowned Miss Irish Rose, and Appel became Miss St. Patrick 2024.
Bruhn, daughter of Ryan Bruhn and Meghan Campbell, shared a speech about what it means to her to be Irish, while Schultz, daughter of Julie and Grant Schultz, sang and played flute to “Danny Boy.” Gunderson, daughter of Sarah Gunderson and the late Brian Gunderson invited all children in the crowd to join her on stage while she performed her talent of reading “How to Catch a Leprechaun” by Adam Wallace.
While scores were being tallied, the 2023 royalty shared their goodbyes. Miss St. Patrick Emma Keith, Miss Irish Rose Caitlin Slattery, and Miss Shamrock 2023 Lauren White represented the Irish American Club of Southern Minnesota for the past year. Emma Keith performed her talent from last year, a vocal solo of “Lady of Knock.”
A dance and musical performance by John and Simon Hoehn followed the pageant. As the local Irish American clans danced the night away at the Mill and drank all the green beer they could handle, it was another great year of celebrating the blessings of being Irish.
