The St. Patrick’s Festival

The ever popular St Patrick’s Festival returns to Dublin from March 14 to 18 with a five-day programme celebrating the best of traditional and contemporary storytelling, that includes large-scale family events: the Festival Parade and new for 2019, a Festival Village at Merrion Square. Among the events are; an exhibition of works by Eamonn Doyle at the RHA Gallery; a programme of traditional singing and storytelling events in venues and sites across the city; Terra Firmish, a new music and dance performance by Seán MacErlaine; Cormac Begley & Friends, a night of musical stories and magical tunes in The Pepper Canister Church. Of course, Ireland has a deep-rooted connection to storytelling reaching back thousands of years. From mythology and the great historical moments of the past, to heroes through the ages and their legacies, the stories have shaped what it means to be Irish.

The Parade

For the Festival Parade on Sunday afternoon, pageant companies have come up with shows that celebrate the art of storytelling by creating spectacles that unearth old and new stories.

Speaking about the Festival, Dublin’s mayor, Niall Ring, said: “My childhood memories are of being brought into the parade and then back home for dinner which was invariably on a green, white and orange theme (peas, potatoes and carrots!). To see how the Festival has now developed into a five day spectacular is brilliant and I know that Dubliners and visitors alike will revel in the huge number of events. It’s our city, it’s our patron saint and it’s our festival – let’s appreciate it, enjoy it and most importantly, share it.”

Eamonn Doyle exhibition at the RHA

Over the past five years, Eamonn Doyle rapidly emerged into the contemporary photographic world with his Dublin Trilogy. As part of the Festival theme of Storytelling, RHA and St Patrick’s Festival are hosting the first significant showing of his current work in his home town, running until April 20.

Abair

Taken from the Irish word meaning both ‘to say’ and ‘to sing’, Abair is a programme of traditional singing and storytelling events across the city. Enjoy songs and stories at the Dublin Tenement Museum at No.14 Henrietta Street, the Dublin house that lived through Georgian aristocracy, Irish revolution and the worst slum conditions in Europe; Ballad Tours Dublin will create an interactive journey through time, chronicling the history of the city. Gnás promises a series of site-specific performances celebrating Irish arts at Glasnevin Cemetery, The National Print Museum, Dublin Working Man’s Club and the Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship; while Through Dublin City is a session trail of the city’s best traditional singing clubs including The Teacher’s Club, The Cobblestone, The Lord Edward, Chaplin’s and O’Neill’s.

That sinking feeling

Terra Firmish is a new music and dance performance written by Seán Mac Erlaine, telling the true story of a sinking church on Inish Oirr. Seán performs woodwinds and electronics, Maeve Gilchrist plays the harp, Alex Pectu is on percussion, while dancer Emma O’Kane performs.

Donal Dineen presents Cormac Begley & Friends, a night of musical stories and magical tunes in the company of Cormac Begley and friends. Begley is a bass, baritone, treble and piccolo concertina player from a legendary west Kerry musical family, whose passionate style of playing straddles both traditional and more contemporary styles.

For this special performance in The Pepper Canister Church on Mount Street, Begley and friends old and new are promising an unmissable evening of soulful music.

Entry to Eamonn Doyle at the RHA is free. Tickets for Abair events (from €12), Terra Firmish (€17) and Cormac Begley & Friends (€17) are available from stpatricksfestival.ie