It's back. Two years after Ireland was shuttered by Covid, the country is open again properly, just in time for St Patrick's weekend. Handily enough, this year Paddy's Day falls on Thursday, and we've a bonus bank holiday on Friday, making for a bumper weekend for many. So if we're not rushing to an airport to get off the rock, but want to enjoy our newly reopened world locally, here are some ideas to get started. It looks pretty sunny, by the way.
The parades
March 17th, stpatricksfestival.ie
You read it right: our national festival is back after a two-year hiatus, and we can once again don our green wigs and leprechaun hats and head out to celebrate Paddy's Day in person. We haven't quite driven Covid out of Ireland, but the parades and celebrations will go on, and hopefully the worst we'll end up with is a bit of a hangover from the green beer.
The centrepiece of the celebration of our national day is the parade. There’s something nicely symbolic and celebratory about a return of gaiety to our streets two years since they were shuttered by Covid. And not just parades, but marching bands, are back. There are also parades in cities including Cork, Galway, Limerick, Belfast, Kilkenny, and also towns from Skibbereen to Sligo, Athlone to Killarney, Bray to Bantry, some of them part of wider programmes of events. Check locally for details.
The Dublin parade on Thursday March 17th promises the most ambitious in scale, creativity and participants, with work by some of Ireland’s best pageant companies and community groups. Grand marshals are Paralympic gold medal swimmer (and Dancer with the Stars) Ellen Keane and Olympic gold medal boxer Kellie Harrington, and international guest of honour is Irish-American actor, musician and producer John C Reilly. Dublin’s parade is the centrepiece of the five-day St Patrick’s Festival, with a theme of Connections/Naisc to celebrate Irish arts, culture and heritage. Daytime events are free, first-come, first-served subject to capacity; some evening events have fees.
The parade will be led by Ireland’s best-loved space cadet, little Adam King, who will be handing out his famous virtual hugs from his very own parade space shuttle.
Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland
March 16th-20th, Collins Barracks, Dublin, free and ticketed events, stpatricksfestival.ie
The capital's focus for the five-day St Patrick's Festival shindig has moved to the grounds of the gracious 18th museum, creating an extensive day-to-night urban "festival quarter" there. Incorporating the barracks' two squares, there's a 3,000 capacity outdoor Main Stage, two Spiegeltents (Mór and Beag), an Irish food and craft village, a comedy tent, story yurt with readings and workshops, talks, film screenings, interactive games, circus and science shows performance and relaxation areas. An extra €1 million from the Department of Arts went towards a beefed-up cultural line-up, with most performances free and others costing €10-€20. Cork singer-songwriter Lyra kicks it off on Wednesday night on the mainstage (free, unticketed); Damien Dempsey's Spiegeltent gig (with guests Thumper) on Friday sold out (€10, with half going to Coolmine Therapeutic Community) so it's moved to the larger capacity main stage. As well as tons of other music including Soulé, Le Boom with Glasshouse Orchestra and Æ MAK, there's circus and street theatre performances, dancers, comedy. An Irish food and craft village promises a daily showcase of produce, with food trucks, craft stalls and space to relax and connect (free for all daily, 12pm-6pm; Festival Quarter Nights over-18s, 6pm-10.30pm).
Céilí Mór
March 17th, Main Stage Festival Quarter at Collins Barracks, Dublin, 3:30pm, stpatricksfestival.ie
Also back is the giant dance-fest for all ages, at the free large-scale outdoor, bilingual céilí, celebrating traditional Irish dance, language and music. There'll be live music on the mainstage by Shandrum Céilí Band, and host Dearbhla Lennon (Riverdancer and champion step-dancer) will lead and guide in the (basic) steps, from Shoe the Donkey to the Walls of Limerick.
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe
March 15th-19th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 2.30pm and 7.30pm, bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
CS Lewis's enchanting story may not quite have the epic quality of his pal JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth trilogy, but the Narnia books were charming children's adventures with a strong moral compass. This exciting and colourful production has wowed West End audiences and now goes on tour, bringing audiences through the wardrobe and into a magical land filled with fauns and other semi-mythical creatures. Alas, Narnia is under the spell of the evil White Witch, and now it's always winter but never Christmas. But the animals await the return of the benevolent, all-powerful lion named Aslan to restore order. Director Sally Cookson and designer Rae Smith have turned the stage into a wonderland, with spectacular puppetry and aerial acrobatics, and a fine cast led by Samantha Womack as the White Witch.
Breathe Festival
March 18th, Grounds of the Law Society in Dublin 7, 10am-5pm; March 19th, 10am-1pm, outdoors €10.80,stpatricksfestival.ie
Wellness event for all ages, with yoga and mindfulness classes and activities, talks, demos, local food, a mobile sauna and more – a day and a half of wellness and resilience for the self, our communities and planet presented by the St Patrick's Festival and producers Happenings. With Bressie, The Happy Pear, Trisha Lewis, Davie Philips, Michael Ryan, Jen Healy, Reggae Yoga, Lou Horgan, Mari Kennedy, The Useless Project, Clean Coasts and Friends of The Earth.
Visit one of the St Patrick heritage sites
heritageireland.ie, stpatrickscathedral.ie
How about the Rock of Cashel, the dramatic outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale, with an impressive cluster of medieval buildings (a round tower, a high cross, a Romanesque chapel, a Gothic cathedral, an abbey, the Hall of the Vicars Choral and a 15th century Tower House), where Patrick converted the powerful King of Munster, Aonghus. And also in Tipperary is St Patrick's Well, a holy site west of Clonmel. Or climb Croagh Patrick, the majestic holy mountain that rises 765m above sea level over the beautiful surroundings of Clew Bay in Co Mayo, where legend has it Patrick made a pilgrimage in 441 AD. Or visit the Hill of Slane, Co Meath, where he apparently sought to hijack the pagan lighting of the Bealtaine fire by lighting his own huge fire (though historically, it's likely Patrick never actually visited Slane). Or do a guided tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral, built in the 13th century on the site where Patrick baptised Christian converts over 1500 years ago.
Fatboy Slim
March 16th, 3 Arena, Dublin, ticketmaster.ie
What better way to bookend our national holiday than with big shows from that icon of 1990s Cool Britannia, Norman Cook? The superstar DJ dons his Hawaiian shirt once again for gigs in Dublin's 3Arena and Belfast's SSE Arena on either side of Paddy's Day – so get ready for a big beat carnival that will send 50,000 volts through Anglo-Irish relations. Cook has dabbled with pop stardom, but he says he's at his most comfortable behind the decks, getting the party started wherever he spins. He's been DJ-ing for 40 years now, and still has the thirst for turntable thrills, so don't expect him to be just hitting play on the greatest hits CD and sitting back with a nice cuppa tea. "When I've got my shirt on, I have to give it my all as a performer and a showman and, you know, as a professional idiot," he says, so get ready to leave his shows grinning like an idiot.
The Custom House
Custom House Visitor Centre, Dublin, €6, heritageireland.ie
You might not have thought of James Gandon's masterpiece of neo-classicism on Dublin's quays as a place to visit, but the new visitor centre now offers a multi-sensory experience, with audio benches, visual displays, and interactive screens, as well as tours. Built in 1791 the Custom House has overlooked the Liffey and the ships that docked along the quays for over 230 years, from its rocky start to its destruction during the War of Independence in May 1921.
Edel Meade: Brigids & Patricias
March 19th, The Source, Thurles, Co Tipperary, thesourceartscentre.ie
A rather different riff on national saints, Edel Meade performs on Saturday as part of her spring tour based on her gorgeous and evocative album Brigids & Patricias. Shaped by Irish history, folklore and contemporary society, the album draws on the stories and experiences of Irish women including Tipperary woman, Bridget Cleary, Limerick aviator Lady Mary Heath and contemporary trailblazers including Catherine Corless and Vicky Phelan. Aftershow panel discussion includes Tipperary playwright Eve O'Mahony reflecting on the relevance of Bridget Cleary today, and of St Brigid's Day as a new national holiday.
Epic The Irish Emigration Museum
The chq Building, Custom House Quay, Dublin, €16.50, epicchq.com
Epic has a line-up of family activities and events for Patrick's day, including Explorers Stories of Ireland, St Patrick's Treasures and Triumphs Trail, and the Green Roots Project exhibition from a Community Engagement for Climate Action group. Adding to its extensive emigration themed museum, it's just opened a new gallery installation, Ireland Never Leaves You, an immersive audio-visual experience telling the contrasting tales of two Irish emigrants, 23 year old Patrick Kearney who emigrated on the Jeanie Johnston in 1847, and broadcaster, academic and writer Emma Dabiri, who lives in London and returns home to her family in Ireland; the 360 degree audiovisual show recreates the sounds and atmosphere of a 19th century ship voyage and contemporary airport experiences.
Lots in Limerick: Top 8 Hip-Hop and Street Dance Festival
March 18th-20th, Limerick city, top8ight.com
Celebration of hip-hop and street dance culture including a family-friendly event with music showcases and dance battles on Saturday afternoon, gatherings for over-18s in the evenings with DJs and rap artists, and dance workshops for all ages and experience on Sunday afternoon. Line-up includes Citrus Fresh, Krome, KeSTine, Ophelia and Zibbster.
X’ntigone after Sophocles
March 16th-26th, Abbey Theatre, Dublin 8pm (Saturday matinee 2.30pm), €18-€25/€10-€20, abbeytheatre.ie
Something is rotten in the state of ancient Greece, and this new reading of Sophocles's age-old tale promises to shed light on events of recent times. Thebes is in the midst of a terrible pandemic that has killed millions and wrecked the economy, but vaccinations hold out a promise of coming out of lockdown and celebrating the Festival of Liberty. However, Thebes's ruler, Creon, faces an unlikely adversary: his own daughter, who now styles herself X'ntigone and is on a mission to tear down the old order and establish a new world vision. Darren Murphy has written this contemporary telling, with Emma Jordan directing.
Limerick Early Music Festival
March 18th-20th, Limerick, limerickearlymusic.com
Six concerts with local, national, and international performers spotlighting the sound-worlds of the viola da gamba, the recorder, and the human voice. With resident artists gamba and recorder duo from Spain Caranzalem, viola da gamba duo Pilar Almalé and Sarah Groser, Limerick's Ancór Choir and The Dublin Viols.
50th Limerick International Band Championship
March 20th, Limerick city, 12pm, limerick.ie
The streets of Limerick will fill with the sight and sound of marching band musicians from across Ireland, Europe and America.
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin 9, dctrust.ie
The cemetery at the heart of key moments and events in modern Irish history has added to its range of themed tours and exhibition with Extra-Ordinary Lives, featuring stories of famous and not so famous people who shaped Ireland, including famous writers, musicians and artists, and some less well known people resting there.
The Mary Wallopers
March 17th, Vicar St, Dublin, 7.30pm
The Dundalk folk trio of Sean McKenna and brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy were all set to play their biggest ever headline gig back in December, but then Christmas got cancelled due to some flipping virus. They may not have been able to do the Santa thing, but they can now don the green shirt with a St Patrick's Day gig at Dublin's Vicar St, and they'll be bringing along their ever-bulging songbook, filled with songs they've written and quirky tunes they've collected on their travels around the country. These punked-up balladeers describe themselves as The Clancy Brothers meet John Lydon, so we're expecting a raucously good time from these tub-thumping troubadours.
The Booley House
March 17th, Theatre Royal Waterford, 7pm, theatreroyal.ie
The Irish music, song and dance show, with seanachaí James Lenane, step dancing from Michael Ryan School of Irish Dance, and set dance teacher Tom Hyland, which usually runs through the summer, performs on Patrick's Day, supporting Solas Cancer Support Centre, as part of the city's St Patrick's Day Festival.
Virtual pleasures
St Patrick's week, online, stpatricksfestival.ie
For those who can't be there in person, there are two impressive online festivals of Irish culture, free to all, anywhere in the world.
Seoda, Culture Ireland's online festival presenting Irish arts to a global audience for five days from March 13th , includes work by Fishamble, Druid, Irish National Opera, Saint Sister, Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill, as well as broadcasts from Irish Arts Center, New York and Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. Streaming on Culture Ireland's YouTube channel.
And SPF TV, the five-day TV station that St Patrick’s Festival put together for a global audience last year, returns with more than 50 pre-recorded programmes and livestreams of festival events (many with sign language and all with closed captions).
TradFest
March 16th-20th, Kilkenny city, kilkennytradfest.com
TradFest includes a free music trail of 88 gigs, ballads and sessions in pubs and at the bandstand by the river, and evening concerts in the Medieval Mile Museum Music series, Paul Brady at the Watergate Theatre, the Bonnymen and more at Cleere's.
Croke Park GAA Museum
Croke Park, Dublin; Museum and tours closed March 17th; open for matchday ticket holders only from 12.45pm Sunday 20th, so check before heading off, €8 for adults, crokepark.ie
Nestled under the Cusack Stand in Croke Park the museum tells the GAA's stories and highlights prized items in the history of the games. A recent revamp has added treasures like an old Cusack stand seat, a New York captain's jersey from 1927, and a hurley from the 1888 invasion tour, to tell the story of Gaelic games and their place in Irish society and culture.
Hughie O’Donoghue: Original Sins
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, free, nationalgallery.ie
New work by artist Hughie O'Donoghue opened this week at NGI's Shaw Room: six large paintings depicting six historical figures,from ancient history, modern history, and the contemporary world, paired together. Irish saint Deirbhile and Wuffer, the first English-born Anglo-Saxon king, are from the Dark Ages; princess Aoife (from The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife) is paired with William the Conqueror; and 20th century revolutionaries Michael Collins and Emily Davison, who both spent time in prison and died tragically.
Guinness Storehouse
March 16th-20th, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin 8, from €35, guinness-storehouse.com
The visitor attraction that celebrates Ireland's connection with the black stuff, which is now a part of international brand Diageo, on March 16-20 hosts additional live music, DJs and pop-up performances from dance troupe Prodijig, STOUTies and folk group the Dublin Rovers as part of visits (tickets from €35). Its evening Brewer's Feasts for Patrick's Festival are also returning (Wed-Fri, from €90), with a four-course tasting menu, entertainment and performances from spoken-word artist FeliSpeaks, Carrie Baxter and Sorcha Richardson.
Teeling Whiskey Distillery
The Liberties, Dublin 8, from €17, over-18s, teelingwhiskey.com
Tour recounting the history and provenance of Dublin distilling has been updated with local Dublin street artist Shane Sutton's street art storyline and interactive guided tours evoking the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a distillery.
Animation Dingle
animationdingle.com
Live and virtual blended festival including conference, awards, workshops and screenings in the Kerry town of Dingle.
Outrage
March 17th-19th, Kells Courthouse, Kells, Co Meath, 7.30pm, €16
Deirdre Kinahan's hard-hitting new play, directed by Jim Culleton and starring Mary Murray and Naoise Dunbar, tells the story of two sisters and the challenges and choices they faces in the Civil War of 1922. Alice and Nell are doing their bit to organise civic resistance, but as the country spirals towards civil war, the sisters are torn by conflicting ideals and beliefs. While writing the play, Kinahan looked at the true-life testimonies of women activists during that era, and Outrage challenges much of the received wisdom of that period in Irish history, looking at it from a women's perspective and finding empathy and truth in the unlikeliest places. It's part of Fishamble's ongoing work to mark the Decade of Centenaries, and will move to the Pumphouse in Dublin Port from March 24-April 3.
Love Is a Stranger
March 19th, The Grainhouse, Ballymaloe, Co Cork, 2pm, €35/€50 (family ticket), anotherlovestory.ie
With a Eurythmical title, this one-day festival of music, food and good vibes is worth checking out for the location alone, a 17th-century barn complex that's perfect for spreading your wings and flying it. Add in a fab musical line-up of Conor O'Brien aka Villagers, London/west Cork groove machine K3:lu, the beguiling Anna Mieke and the folktastic Junior Brother, and you've got plenty to be getting on with throughout the day. There are also a few fascinating talks lined up, including Siobhan Kane chatting to Cork writer Danny Denton, and a listening party and Q&A with Paul McDermott, whose documentary on the late Andrew Weatherall, Sail We Must, tracks the connections between the superstar DJ and Cork. And don't worry – there'll be delicious street food from Wildside Catering and lovely grub from the Ballymaloe Cafe to keep you going through the day.
The Blades
March 19th Academy, Dublin 7pm €30, ticketmaster.ie
Amazing how time flies. The Blades have been reunited for nearly 10 years now, and bringing the good vibes from Raytown to all corners of the land once again. Then Covid hit, and Paul Cleary, Brian Foley and Jake Reilly had to go back into the punk cryogenic chamber once again for another couple of years. Now, they're back on the beat with their rescheduled headliner at the Academy, and believe me, they won't look (or sound) like they've aged a day. ''We can't wait to play again after a long two-year absence, we're determined to make this one of our best ever shows, it's the least our supporters deserve,'' says Cleary. Will we miss this one? Not a ghost of a chance.
Hans Zimmer
March 20th, 3Arena, Dublin, 7.30pm, from €67, ticketmaster.ie
The Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning composer brings his delayed Europe tour to the 3Arena, and boy has he got some repertoire to choose from on the night, not least his most recent film scores for No Time to Die and Dune. The ever-sprightly Zimmer will be bringing his full band and orchestra to perform acclaimed music from such classic movies as Dunkirk, Gladiator, the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Blade Runner 2049, Thelma and Louise and 12 Years a Slave. Zimmer doesn't do aloof maestro – he'll be centre stage as player, host and musical director; and completely reinventing the format of performing film music live.
