In the Albany Times-Union today: The Irish American Heritage Museum, which has been a summer fixture in the Catskills town of Durham for 25 years, is moving to Albany and will be open year-round.
It's an exciting move for the museum, which up til now has been open only seasonally. But alas, the decision to move the museum was spurred on by a steady dropoff in visitors to the museum, and the little Irish-American hamlet of East Durham in general:
The museum previously occupied a house in East Durham in the so-called "Irish Alps" among a cluster of Irish bars and shops. The Greene County community was re-settled in recent decades by retired police and firefighters of Irish heritage from New York City.
But the children of those Irish-Americans have exhibited changing tastes and have moved away, leaving the East Durham area struggling economically. Several Irish-themed businesses closed their doors. The Irish American Heritage Museum steadily declined, as well, with last year's attendance an all-time low of about 2,000, causing the organization to lose money, according to executive director Jeff Cleary.
Still happening in East Durham next month: The annual Memorial Day Irish Festival, a two-day shindig devoted to Irish music and general festivity. Here's a video clip from last year's fest, of NYC Irish rockers Shilelagh Law performing "Good Intentions."
