This year St. Patrick's Festival runs from 13th March to 17th March, with the Festival Parade held on Wednesday March 17th 2010 at 12 noon (subject to licensing.) The parade takes about 90 mins to complete the parade route.
St.Patrick's Day is one of those very special days around the world, but nowhere in the world is it more special than in Ireland, where it all started. As always, Dublin, will again be high on party fever as Ireland's greatest annual celebration takes over for the spectacular five day festival.
Join in the best party in Dublin; jump to this link if you want to keep up to date with
what's happening in Dublin.
Labels: 2010, Dublin, festival, St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin comes to a climax on Tuesday with the St Patrick's Day parade and organisers expect as many as 650,000 spectators. Over 2,000 performers participate in the parade, which starts from Parnell Square North at noon and then takes 90 minutes to wind its way around the city.
Dublin's St Patrick's Day parade is to be broadcast on RTÉ 1 and will also be available online through live video streaming.
Labels: 2009, Dublin, festival, St. Patrick's Day, video
St Patrick's Festival in Dublin, will this year run from March 12th-17th, 2009, during which time the city will play host to 4,000 performers and a million visitors.
The six day festival, known for its lively music, street theatre, carnivals, comedy and street performances culminates with the St Patrick's Day parade on March 17th. This year's theme is the sky’s the limit.
Labels: 2009, Dublin, festival, Ireland, St. Patrick's Day
To get you in the mood for next week's sessions, here is a great jam of that tradional standard, Irish Rover, performed 21 years ago by The Dubliners and The Pogues. I am sure that on the 17th, you will hear this tall tale sung several times from every Irish bar in the world; in case you don't know the words, they are reproduced below but after a glass or two of the black stuff, no one will be too concerned about what order they are sung in!
On the Fourth of July, 1806
We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks
For the Grand City Hall in New York
'Twas a wonderful craft
She was rigged fore and aft
And oh, how the wild wind drove her
She stood several blasts
She had twenty seven masts
And they called her The Irish Rover
We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags
We had two million barrels of bones
We had three million sides of old blind horses' hides
We had four million barrels of stones
We had five million hogs
And six million dogs
Seven million barrels of porter
We had eight million bales of old nanny goats' tails
In the hold of the Irish Rover
There was awl Mickey Coote
Who played hard on his flute
And the ladies lined up for a set
He would tootle with skill
For each sparkling quadrille
Though the dancers were fluther'd and bet
With his smart witty talk
He was cock of the walk
As he rolled the dames under and over
They all knew at a glance
When he took up his stance
That he sailed in The Irish Rover
There was Barney McGee
From the banks of the Lee
There was Hogan from County Tyrone
There was Johnny McGurk
Who was scared stiff of work
And a man from Westmeath called Malone
There was Slugger O'Toole
Who was drunk as a rule
And Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover
And your man, Mick McCann
From the banks of the Bann
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover
For a sailor its' always a bother in life
It's so lonesome by night and by day
That he longs for the shore
and a charming young whore
Who will melt all his troubles away
Oh, the noise and the rout
Swillin' poiteen and stout
For him soon the torment's over
Of the love of a maid he is never afraid
An old salt from the Irish Rover
We had sailed seven years
When the measles broke out
And the ship lost its way in the fog
And that whale of a crew
Was reduced down to two
Just myself and the Captain's old dog
Then the ship struck a rock
Oh Lord! what a shock
The bulkhead was turned right over
Turned nine times around
And the poor old dog was drowned (1,2,3!)
I'm the last of The Irish Rover.Labels: Dubliners, Irish Rover, Pogues, St. Patrick's Day, video
It seems like we have no sooner got over the Hogmanay hangover, than the Irish begin their annual party. Monday 17th March is St. Patrick's day; that special day filled with music, velvet black stout, dancing and still more of the black stuff. The day when the Irish celebrate being Irish and the rest of the world celebrate with them, wishing that they have at least a little Irish blood running through their veins.
In Dublin, they celebrate in the famed Irish style, warming up with five days and nights of
celebrations. Music, street theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt and night spectaculars. What is more, almost all of the events are free.
Then, the celebrations, involving 4000 performers and 1 million people, come to a magnificent climax with the world famous St. Patrick's Day Parade on Monday 17th March.
Labels: 2008, Dublin, Ireland, St. Patrick's Day
