MANCHESTER IRISH WEEKENDER EVENT TO CELEBRATE ST PATRICK'S DAY AND ALL THINGS IRISH

Manchester will be paying homage to the Emerald Isle next week with 'The Manchester Irish Weekender' - to help Mancunians and visitors alike celebrate all things Irish.

The free music and street food event runs from St Patrick's Day, Thursday 17 March, through to Sunday 20 March on the boardwalk in Piccadilly Gardens.

The city already plays host to an annual community organised city-wide Irish Festival and this new additional event has been put together to help bring a taste of Ireland into the heart of the city centre itself.

It will see a foot-stomping programme of live music and dance, alongside food and drink stalls with traditional Irish tipples on tap, including glasses of Ireland's infamous stouts, as well as Irish coffees, and classic hot toddies to warm the coldest of hearts and hands.

Irish dancers, pipe bands and Irish folk musicians will be taking to the stage in the middle of the gardens throughout the long weekend and promise to get even the most reluctant toe-tappers dancing with free entertainment every day from 12 noon to 7 pm.

The event has been funded through the European Regional Development Fund and their Welcome Back Fund which has provided councils across the country with a share of £56 million to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.

Manchester Councillor Pat Karney, city centre lead for Manchester City Council, said:

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"We all know that if you can't be in the Emerald Isle itself then Manchester is the next best place to celebrate St Patrick's Day.  We also know that one day alone isn't nearly long enough to celebrate all that's great about Ireland and its unique cultural heritage of music and dance - which is why we've put together the weekender event to share the love over four days and give everyone a chance to enjoy the craic.  

"It's brilliant to see so many people already coming back into the city centre to enjoy what it has to offer, and the Manchester Irish Weekender gives another good reason to come into town.  It's going to be fantastic, so find a shamrock, wear something green, and come on down!"

 

Other events to celebrate St Patrick's Day in Manchester include the annual parade organised by the Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill which takes place this Sunday 13 March, and the Manchester Irish Festival which has events throughout the month up to 20 March.

This weekend's parade will start from the Irish World Heritage Centre on Queen's Road in

Cheetham Hill at 12 noon on Sunday and will follow a route down Cheetham Hill Road as far as the AO Arena before turning round and following the same route back to where it started.  

Highlights of the Manchester Irish Festival include the award-winning Fianna Phadraig Pipe band who are coming up to their 75th anniversary and will be taking the festival on tour with visits to different locations across the city throughout this weekend, before touring Levenshulme, Burnage, and Fallowfield on St Patrick's Day itself.

For more information about what's on during The Manchester Irish Weekender head to https://www.manchester.gov.uk/irishweekender

For more information on Manchester Irish Festival visit http://www.manchesteririshfestival.co.uk/