The Manchester Irish Festival is back this March and, as the old saying goes, it’s bigger than ever. It is an entirely apt phrase in this instance, however, as, now in its 15th year, the festival prides itself on being widely regarded as the biggest in Europe; easily dwarfing even Dublin itself, which only puts on a weekend. Running from Friday 5 to Sunday 21 march, activities will be taking place throughout Greater Manchester with no less than 50 different venues taking part, putting on over 200 events featuring 1000 performers. Many of the events are free to attend.

Music naturally features in much of the festival programme with many gigs being put on throughout the two weeks, with a large focus on the pubs and clubs of Levenshulme and, naturally, the Irish pubs in the city centre, but there’s also a plethora of other Irish related things going on, including comedy, Irish dancing, Irish language classes and much more. The centrepiece for the festival is, of course, the St Patricks Day Parade. The annual parade has become something of a fixture in Manchester and is now the second longest in the world, behind only New York. Taking place on Sunday 14 March 2010, the parade takes a route from the Irish World Heritage Centre on Queens Road and runs through the city centre to Albert Square.

There will also be an Irish Craft & Community Market in Albert Square from 12-14 March, accompanied by an Irish Entertainment Marquee, sponsored by Mulligans of Deansgate, serving food and drinks as well as hosting some fine Irish entertainment. The festival is due to be officially launched this Friday 5 March by the Lord Mayor, with a civic launch in the Town Hall attended by VIPs and Irish Celebrities.

It all kicks off from this Friday night so pick yourselves a gig or two and get the Guinness in. Here’s a picture of a dog in a hat to get you in the mood. Good craic!



Photo by Tony Hennigan

For more information and full listings see the the Manchester Irish Festival Website