Stovall Boulevard resident Teresa Finley is a first-generation Irish-American who grew up step dancing in a family that practiced and celebrated the Irish arts. Now, she works to keep traditional Irish dance, music, and song alive through programs at the Phoenix School of Irish Arts on the Oglethorpe University campus and through the annual Irishfest in Roswell.

 

The Phoenix School of Irish Arts is a non-profit that was founded in 2021 by Teresa and her son Patrick. Patrick, who now lives and works in San Francisco, had attended a similar school and studied Irish fiddle when growing up in Atlanta. That program closed in 2017. A few years later when Patrick was a student at Georgia Tech, he and some Irish music friends convinced Teresa there was a need for a new school for the next generation. Phoenix School of Irish Arts was born.

 

The school currently has 25-30 students who range in age from four years old to over 50.

Along with serving as president of the school, Teresa herself is studying sean-nós, an old style of Irish dance. “It’s very different from Irish step dancing,” she says. “It’s very percussion, more improv, more like tap dancing.” The school also offers voice and song classes, and music on fiddle, tune whistle, concertina, flute, piano, and cello

 

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, students and teachers are preparing for performances across Atlanta. They’ll perform at a dignitaries breakfast with the Irish Consulate General (whose offices are on Peachtree Road in Buckhead); have a float, musicians, and dancers in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown; and perform before the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s presentations of Luck of the Irish.

 

Teresa also founded and runs Atlanta’s annual Irishfest in Historic Roswell every November. She grew up in Milwaukee, which is home to the largest Irish festival in the world. Her parents, who met after emigrating here from Ireland, were involved in the festival from the beginning. Two of Teresa’s brothers are Irish fiddlers and her sister a singer, and all would be on stage during the annual event.

 

Over 2,500 people attended Atlanta’s Irishfest last fall. The festival includes dance performances, music concerts, theater, whiskey tasting, bread baking, Irish tea, workshops, and more. Teresa and her volunteer team bring in two name bands each year: one from Ireland and one from elsewhere in the United States.

 

Teresa’s husband Foster is not Irish but enjoys Irish history. They have lived in Historic Brookhaven for 27 years.