The forecast looks very promising for Sunday’s second Irish Heritage festival in Adams Corner— which promises to be a great event for people of all backgrounds to enjoy. Last year’s festival drew an estimated 8,000 people to the village and organizers expect an even bigger crowd this weekend.

Adams Corner is well-known far beyond Dorchester as an important crossroads of Irish-American culture. It is home to Greenhills Irish Bakery, Gerard’s Adams Corner Shoppe and Restaurant and the iconic Eire Pub among other Irish-themed shops. Last year’s festival sought to cement that reputation and bring in crowds from well outside our borders to experience the neighborhood through a lens not always broadcast on the evening news or the daily paper.

Organizer Sean Weir told us last week that the volunteer work to pull the festival started almost as soon as last October’s inaugural event ended.

“We were getting calls the day after last year’s event from people who wanted to be involved,” said Weir, who also serves as president of the Cedar Grove Civic Association. “It was such a success. And that’s what we’re doing it for: to bring people back to the Adams Corner area and promote the area and have some family-oriented events here.”

Weir and his fellow organizers have the right idea. The free street festival will start at 10 a.m. on Sunday and will end with a performance by the U2 cover band Joshua Tree that starts at 7 p.m. The full details of the festival can be viewed online at irishheritagefestival.com.

There is still a need for volunteers who might spare a minimum of two hours during the event — or before and after— to help out with logistics. Volunteers can sign up at the website. The group is also staging a clean-up the day before— Saturday, Oct. 9 starting at 9 a.m.— to prepare for the festival.
Whatever your ethnic roots, come out and experience this all-day street party right in our own backyard.
– Ed Forry

Loscocco the turncoat
Gov. Patrick found one word to describe state Rep. Paul Loscocco’s dismount from the Cahill ticket last week: “tacky.” We’d go a step further: dishonorable.
Cahill may not be our top choice for the corner office, but surely he deserves better treatment from the lawmaker he teamed up with more than a year ago. Cahill handled Friday’s defection with poise and dignity.
“The Loscocco defection means we’re going to fight harder,” Cahill said, calling his ex-teammate’s move reflective of “backroom deals.”
GOP candidate Charlie Baker made a misstep by associating himself with a turncoat who didn’t even have the courtesy to tell Cahill face-to-face that he was jumping ship. What kind of people are these? One thing seems certain: Cahill is well rid of this running mate.
– Bill Forry