Help Keep The Tradition Alive

Seamus and I thank you all so much for your kind words and support for “Help Keep the Tradition Alive”. The enthusiasm and feedback we have witnessed and received are testaments to the vibrancy and resilience of both East Durham and this community. As promised, we would evaluate our campaign in approximately 30 days and see if we’ll continue. To reach our goal unfortunately looks highly unlikely. We will refund everyone that donated. GoFundMe states it will be 7-10 days before you’ll see your refund. Thank you all for participating. We’ll start processing the refunds on Wednesday April 17. The Gavin-Palmieri family have announced they are moving forward with the 2024 & 2025 season. We wish them the very best.

Andy Cooney

Original Campaign:

It has been announced that The Golden Hill House doing business as Gavin's Irish Country Inn in East Durham, NY is for sale. According to a realtor involved in the efforts to sell the property, there has been an accepted offer put in for the purchase of the property. As of now, neither deposit has been received nor contract executed. As I understand it, the interested party does not have any intentions to continue The Golden Hill House as a hotel/resort.

Hi friends, Andy Cooney here. Most of you know me from my 37 years of performing at The Golden Hill House from 1986 with The Paddy Noonan Band to the last 30 years my own band. It has been an honor to perform for the Golden Hill House for all these years. I built a career that took me from the Catskills to Carnegie Hall. This effort is to provide an opportunity to continue the rich history of this beautiful family run 50-60 room resort hotel that has accommodated East Durham for the past 60 or more years.

I have decided to partner with Seamus Balfe a great son of East Durham from Limerick Ireland. Seamus and I worked very well together and brought back the East Durham Irish Festival from the Pandemic. We had a great success for the last two years! We have fresh ideas and have the desire and skills to move forward to keep The Golden Hill House as a resort hotel.

This is a CALL TO ACTION!

Here’s our proposal to all of you who care about East Durham.

I believe we all can raise $2,500,000 to purchase The Golden Hill House. The resort includes over 20 acres of land with a stream and waterfall on the parameters of the property. Seamus and I don’t have that kind of money, but I think if we all come together, we can raise it.

This will be a 30-day campaign. At the end of the 30 days, if we do not reach our goal, we will assess where we are at and see what kind of financing we can get to bring these efforts to the finish line. If for some reason we are unsuccessful, every dime of every donation will be returned. If we exceed our goal, we will invest those funds into the property.

HERE’S THE PLAN. We appreciate all donations of any amount. Any donations of $500 or higher will be credited towards your stay at The Golden Hill House should we succeed in this effort.

THERE’S NO RISK! ONLY REWARD! YOUR DONATION IS YOUR RESERVATION!

OUR GOALS

Seamus Balfe and I intend to put every waking moment to continue the rich history and traditions of this iconic property and invest in the property as we go along.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

My name is Michael Clarke. I am an attorney and musician; East Durham has been a part of my family’s and my fabric for generations. Andy Cooney and Seamus Balfe are the only ones that can pull this off! Look how they rescued the East Durham Irish Festival from the Pandemic. I would like to take a few moments to share my East Durham history in the context of these important efforts.

My mom and dad came from Ireland and met in the United States. Before my mom passed in 1988, I used to love to hear her tell us how she and my dad met. After arriving to Queens NY, she and her friends spent a weekend in East Durham, NY. They were listening to an Irish band at The O’Neill House resort. My father, a sharp witted Sligoman, introduced himself and asked Rosemary to dance. My mom always ended the story saying: “. . . and we have been dancing ever since.”

This is one of tens of thousands of similar stories, told by Irish and Irish-Americans alike, of an area in New York State in which deep roots are planted for countless families, an area known as “The Irish Alps” in the Catskill Mountains.

I am writing to assist Andy Cooney and Seamus Balfe, two individuals well known and respected in the Irish community, and to offer an opportunity for those with similar, deeply planted roots to contribute to the future of this beautiful place. I ask that you please consider this call for all to participate in a grass-roots effort, to be a part of the continued story of East Durham, a beautiful village with an absolutely fantastic Irish-American history.

BACKGROUND

For over a century, East Durham has a rich history as a destination for New York’s Irish working class. For generations, this hamlet-town nestled in New York State’s north Catskills Mountains hosted friends and families alike. To many, the beautiful setting and natural landscape of East Durham reminded immigrant families of the mountains and streams from their native home. In the early 1900s, East Durham became an Irish culture-rich village. The country escape to East Durham became - and remains - a family tradition, with many families and Irish organizations converging on the town year after year, to make lifelong memories and to enjoy yet again and together the scenery, music and dance.

East Durham is the home of the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre and Our Lady of Knock Shrine, and for decades has hosted the highly successful Memorial Day Irish Festival, Irish Arts Week, and other destination-worthy cultural and sporting events.

The Golden Hill House, the subject property of this call for assistance, was purchased by Jim and Nellie Gavin in 1961. Generations of the Gavin’s family developed this property as a resort, upon which is a spacious dining hall, pool/outdoor recreation areas and a cozy pub with performance space. The resort continues to provide clean accommodations and world class Irish entertainment to its loyal customer base. In the past three decades, many of the original resorts in East Durham have closed due to changes in the United States immigration policies, the emergence of the phenomenon known as the “Celtic Tiger,” and the retirement of the original families that established these resorts in the mid-1900s. The Golden Hill House has been the beneficiary of these changes, as many families formerly “loyal” to closed resorts such as The O’Neill House, Erin’s Melody, The Fern Cliff and McKennas now come to The Golden Hill House every year for rest, reunions, recreation and Irish music and traditions.

Those who know East Durham - and in particular those who know the Golden Hill House - know full well the importance of maintaining the Golden Hill House as a destination resort and performance venue. East Durham has witnessed a revival and resurgence in the past decade, in spite of the pandemic. Contributing to this revival include shops, restaurants, resorts, and cultural efforts in the hamlet, including Guaranteed Irish, The Blackthorne, McGrath’s and The Shamrock House resorts, Furlongs, The Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre’s hosted events and festivals, and Nellie’s restaurant.

CONCLUSION

Your contribution to the Help Keep The Tradition Alive GoFundMe efforts will come back to you in beautiful memories of a lifetime. As a contributor, you will play a significant role in not only preserving East Durham as a hub of Irish culture and arts but will insure its future for generations to come.