St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, will be celebrated across London this weekend. Here’s the lowdown on the best places to see lots of people celebrating Irish culture, and possibly wearing green, if not green, white and orange…
On Saturday 17 March, St Patrick’s Day itself, London’s oldest Irish community will be having a parade, leaving Willesden Green tube station at 2pm and heading towards the Willesden Green Library Centre. Irish dancers will be taking to the stage at the Centre, and several stars of the Irish music scene will be entertaining visitors. There will also be Irish-themed stalls at the venue, as well as lots of activities for kids. You can download the schedule for the day at the London Borough of Brent’s website here.
Throughout the day on Saturday the Roundhouse venue over in Camden Town will be taken over by an Irish Hootenanny. There will be Irish folk music of all descriptions and oppportunities to learn how to play a bodhran – the Irish drum. Events start at 2pm and continue through to 6pm, and its just £2 to enter. More details here.
For those interested in more intellectual pursuits, the London Irish Centre on Camden Square will be hosting three days of lectures, Irish language sessions, music workshops and film screenings alongside several Irish suppers and breakfasts! The London Irish Centre’s full programme for the St Patrick’s Day weekend is here.
The Mayor’s big St Patrick’s Day parade is actually a day late, on Sunday, with floats representing the Irish Counties and accompanying marching bands starting their journey from Green Park to Trafalgar Square at 12pm. There will be a main stage erected on the square where, again. Irish music will be celebrated with sets from contemporary Irish groups, finishing at around 6pm. See here for the full stage line up for the day.
March 15, 2012
Arts and Culture, Events