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Now in its fourth year, The Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival has grown rapidly.  Rich in music, art, dance, food, storytelling and more, the festival attracts not only world class artists, but visitors from throughout the Southeastern United States.  Enoch’s Irish Pub owner and festival founder Doyle Jeter said this year’s move to the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, a climate controlled facility, has allowed festival planners to expand activities and disregard all weather worries. 

If there is a wee bit of Irish, Scottish, or Welsh in your family tree, you’re part of the fun loving people known as the “Celts” and in Louisiana you’re not alone.  “Over 70% of the Louisiana population has some genetic link to the Celtic line,” said Jeter. “Having a Celtic festival in Northeast Louisiana celebrates who we are.”

The heart of the festival is music, but around every corner there will be something new to discover.  Look for exhibitions on Highland Games, piping and drumming, and dancing as well as workshops on Celtic language, instruments and genealogy.  A children’s area will feature games, crafts, storytellers, musicians and dancers.  Food and beverage offerings will include authentic Celtic tastes such as last year’s favorites, Scotch eggs and Guinness beer.  And then there’s the music.  Over 27 bands and artists are scheduled for the two day event and will cover everything from traditional Celtic folk songs to a foot stomping mix of all original high energy modern rock.  The Northeast Louisiana Celtic festival promises to deliver on what the Celts do best - enjoy music, celebrate family, toast friends, and live large!

Letter From the Mayor

Dear Friends,

I am very pleased to welcome one of Louisiana’s premiere events - the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival - to the Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe.  This change in venue brings an exciting combination of authentic Celtic music, food, and activities into one of north Louisiana’s finest all weather venues.  The Ike is easily accessed off of I-20, with ample on-site parking for everyone.

This year’s event will be the most exciting in the Festival’s history, with non-stop activities for all ages.   Bring the whole family and enjoy a weekend of authentic celebration of the Celtic heritage.

I look forward to seeing you in October.

~ Mayor Dave Norris

Founder's Statement

Welcome to the website of the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival, 2008!  For the past 29 years, Enoch's Irish Pub has presented live music, especially Irish music.  It had always been our dream to promote a festival that celebrated our area, particularly the shared Celtic heritage in Northeast Louisiana.  Four years ago, that dream came true, and the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival was born. We've had a lot of help getting to this point, and I thank each and every person who contributed to the cause! 

In four short years, we have hosted some of the world’s most celebrated Celtic performers.  In 2007, we were thrilled to feature no fewer than 10 performers from Ireland and Scotland, including Máirtín de Cógáin and Jimmy Crowley, bright stars from West Cork, Ireland.  A special pre-festival concert at the University of Louisiana at Monroe by Paddy Keenan, one of the founders of Dublin’s Bothy Band, was a highlight of the year. Regional favorites, such as Beth Patterson, Smithfield Fair, Danny O’Flaherty, Needfire, Jim Flanagan, Legacy, the Red River Pipes and Drums, and our dear friend, and mentor, Bill Conly have been kind enough to appear every year. This year brings more Celtic stars to our region!

As founder of the festival, I am constantly asked why we feel a Celtic festival should be held in Northeast Louisiana.  More often than not, this question is asked by someone who has grown up in our region, and who has a surname like Kelley, Murphy, Collins, Whatley, McKeithan, Riley or Sullivan! My stock answer is: “Have you ever looked in a local phonebook or visited one of the cemeteries in our area? Are you not aware, man, that your name is Irish?!"  After a bit of ribbing,  I go on to explain that at least 76% of our area can claim Scots-Irish, Irish, or Welsh heritage, and that Northeast Louisiana was actually listed on an 1851 map as "CELTIC LOUISIANA"!  Historically, folklorists list us as "Scots-Irish Louisiana," and we’re darned proud of it! A visit to a family cemetery in our region could amaze anyone with just the amount of Irish names found on the tombstones.   In Monroe, Louisiana, for example, one would discover a small cemetery on Highway 80, near the University, which was once located on the Old Limerick Plantation. Within the fence of this cemetery, one would find no fewer than three graves marked with "Born in Ireland", "Born in County Galway", and "Born in County Mayo".  The County Mayo marker belongs to General John Hughes, born 1776, the first sheriff of the newly formed Ouachita Parish, circa 1812.

It is gratifying to see so many folks get turned on to their heritage via these conversations. Inevitably, they call us or drop by the pub to tell us stories they had forgotten about their grandparents or great grandparents, the expressions they used, and the tales they’d tell. Most of them quickly find out, with a little digging, that a majority of the plantations in our region were owned by early Irish and Scots-Irish Settlers.   Names like Kilbourne, Kilarney, McMillan, Curry, Innisfail, Iona, Sligo, Armagh, Antrim, Kilbourne, and Limerick Plantations attest to this. Towns and Settlements with names like Cairn, Loch Auman, Kelly, Tullos, Kilpatrick, O’Hara’s Switch, Armagh, Harrisonburg, and so many others offer more proof of the love these early settlers had for the old country and the love they had for their adopted lands. 

One of the goals of our festival is to catalog more information on our early pioneers, their language, farming techniques, music, religion, dance, and love for the lands they left behind.   We will continue to celebrate the rich culture of our ancestors and the land they adopted so long ago. With your continued help, this will be a lifetime project, and surely will be the thrill of a lifetime.  To find out more about the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival, you are welcome to read the pages of our website.  Or, if you just want to chat, stop by the pub.  I'm always good for a pint!

Cheers,
Enoch Doyle Jeter