Join the craic – York stages its first St Patrick’s Weekend festival

York’s first ever St Patrick’s Weekend festival is here. Run by The York Irish Association, the celebrations will take place in a marquee in St Sampson’s Square this Saturday and Sunday (March 14 and 15).

The activities are all about celebrating and continuing to bring an understanding of Irish tradition and culture to York, engaging with York residents and bringing fun and enjoyment to the city for people of all ages who have an interest in Irish culture.

The Saturday morning (March 14) will start with facepainting and children’s storytelling with professional York storyteller Adrian Spendlow.

This will be followed by an Irish dancing performance and class for young people by the O’Connor School of Irish Dance.

Throughout the afternoon there will be talks on the history of Irish people in York, traditional Irish music and a poetry hour.

The entertainment continues on the Saturday evening with performances from musicians Paula Ryan, 2 Bob and a ceilidh with the New Fox Band.

On Sunday March 15 there will be another performance and class with the O’Connor Academy of Irish dance and the weekend’s celebrations will finish a ceilidh with Fiddler’s Wreck.

There will also be a history of the Irish in York display as well as a presence from the Tuke Centre charity and York Unifying Multicultural Initiative (YUMI) in the marquee!

The whole event is free to attend and there will be a York Irish raffle with great prizes!

About York Irish Association

The York Irish Association is a community organisation set up in May 2014 with the aims of raising awareness and celebrating Irish culture and bringing the Irish community and those with an interest in all things Irish together in the city.

Commonly known as York Irish, the organisation is the only one of its kind in York and took off quickly from its first meeting in June 2014.

We hold monthly activities including talks, Irish culture nights and traditional music sessions all of which look to demonstrate the unique connections between York and Ireland.

York Irish is run by a volunteers and received a grant of Awards For All Lottery Funding to support a programme of activities in 2015 including York’s first ever St Patrick’s Weekend festival of music, dance and talks in the city centre.

Through all of these and future activities the aim is to provide the basis for a sustainable York Irish Association for many years to come.

According to official statistics there were 1,300 Irish born people living in York in 2011 and in the past the Irish population made up nearly eight per cent of the population of the city.

This all means that there is a substantial community of Irish born and descendants of Irish in the city today.

York Irish has brought together an often isolated community in York to express its social and cultural identity.

We are all about providing safe, enjoyable and inclusive activities for anyone interested while celebrating the unique connections between Ireland and the city.