It's with an extremely heavy heart that I report the passing of my friend Joseph Patrick Finn of Avon-by-the-Sea over the weekend, gone too soon at the age of 66. A native son of Jersey City, he was an icon on this slice of the Jersey Shore known as the Irish Riviera. He entertained generations of Celts with his sly wit and understated yet effective vocal delivery. Armed with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, he was one of those rare performers that could bring down the house at a ladies auxiliary club before tearing it up at a local beachside pub packed with "barely legals." It was in front of a crowd like that when I last saw Joe, strumming forcefully as he sung "Fields of Athenry" to the dewey-eyed crowd of young-uns. He was at once true to his Irish roots and totally in touch with his inner easy-breezy Jimmy Buffet, all at the same time. Joe always greeted his fans, new and old alike, with the engaging salutation, "Hello, folks!" to which the entire crowd would respond in a deafening "Hello, Joe!" With that, the communion between artist and crowd would be established, paving the way for a rousing set that included "The Unicorn Song," and "Sweet Caroline." I wouldn't be a bit surprised if I tipped my first LEGAL pint to a Joe Finn concert back in the eighties! Proud of and deeply versed in his 100% Irish heritage, Joe served as the grand marshal of the Belmar St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1994, and was honored as Irishman of the Year by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in 2004. He was the host of the Sea Girt Irish Festival each year, which allowed him to mix it up with the likes of Celtic Cross and Black 47. Joe is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Kathleen, his eight children and 18 grandchildren. With fierce devotion to his faith and the decades of good cheer he afforded all of us, I'm sure St. Peter opened the gates this past weekend and said, "Hello, Joe!" one last time.