The St. Patrick’s Day Festival 2014, running from the 14th to the 17th of March, is much as it is it is every year: both prominent and almost invisible among the revelry that the build up to the bank holiday inspires.
This year, the festival is comprised of 17 events scattered across the city. Like the annual Culture Night, you’d be hard pressed to attend them all: in fact it would be impossible but a drift around the city on different days will create a different experience for everyone.
A brief survey of highlights includes, on Friday 14th, JAPE will be playing at the Royal Hibernian Academy. JAPE is the musical project of Richie Egan, producer and performer perhaps best known for his association with the Redneck Manifesto. This event will be free to attend but registration is required.
Also on Friday at the National Gallery, storytelling troupe Milk and Cookies will be regaling crowds, with tales and spoken word performances themed around the multicultural nature of the city that Dublin has become. This event is One City, Many Cultures and is free to attend.
Other potential highlights for your bank holiday weekend include a tribute to the late great Luke Kelly on this the 30th anniversary year of his death. The celebrated documentary by Neal Pearson about the singer’s life will be screened at 10am in O’Donaghue’s pub on Saturday March 15th. A second showing will follow at 12pm to keep the later-rising crowd in the loop.
Leaping forward a few days, there is of course the St Patrick’s Day Parade, starting at 12pm at Parnell Square, on Paddy’s Day itself, Monday 17th and proceeding a circuitous route to end by St Patrick’s Cathedral.
The above are a humble smattering of the 17 events that take place over the bank holiday weekend. See stpatricksfestival.ie/events for more and watch out next year, as the 2015 festival starts on Friday 13th. You’ll want to bring your lucky rabbit’s foot for that one!
Image: Azaria Starfire, Jimmy Deenihan TD and Bella A Gogo at the I love My City launch. Image courtesy St Patrick’s Festival.
By Rúairí Conneely
