What are you doing for St Patrick’s Day this year - if anything?

Ok, in the UK it’s only 3 hours away, and already there has been Edinburgh’s Festival of Ireland going on since last night, with concerts, sessions and the like going on: see http://www.edinburghsfestivalofireland.org/page3.html
I would have gone to one of this afternoon’s sessions but we had snow here - and it was Six Nations super Saturday, so the sofa and TV won (and Scotland drew!)

On Tuesday coming, will be playing at Cafe Ceilidh in Edinburgh’s Scottish Storytelling Centre, from 2pm -4pm. The whole afternoon is on the theme of St Patrick’s Day, so there will be tunes and songs from Ireland featured. The musicians are playing an arrangement of Si Beag Si Mor, John Sheahan’s Marino Casino, and a couple of mazurkas popular in Irish sessions. I hope to play Brian Boru’s March ("with a little help from my friends") and we’ll maybe "Steal Away" at the end.

Looking forward also to seeing the Paddy Callaghan trio at Edinburgh Folk Club on Weds 20th.

Nothing special, but I’ve been in Illinois this past week and they paint the river in Chicago green! They played one Irish trad tune on an otherwise classical/opera radio station to honor the day and said there would be more tomorrow.

And I also brought a Natalie MacMaster digital album today (although I know that’s more Scottish and Nova Scotian than Irish!)

Here in Idaho, we are enjoying warm and cloudless weather. O’Michael’s Pub is hosting a session of around 15 players (including yours truly) in exchange for corned beef & cabbage, Guinness and Jameson’s. Slainte!

It’s already here in Oz. I am staying home and drinking Guinness cocktails*……..
(*My Guinness cocktail recipe- take one baby potato, stick a novelty umbrella into it and wedge it onto the top of your pint of Guinness. Enjoy along with shamrock sandwiches).

I’d prefer to believe ‘Saint’ Patrick has nothing to do with my love of Irish music. But few people find my perspective on him acceptable in their worldview.

Up late because I played for an ‘Aussie bush / Old time’ dance last night.
Now going out to weld up parts for a new harvesting truck, then later do some outside rendering repairs to the house.
Just another day!

Went to the bi-weekly session. Now planning on avoiding the ‘Green Cowboys’ and other random punters. Spent my ‘mis-spent’ 🙂 youth chasing shamrocks . Done with that now!

Played 4 hrs of amplified session music at a very loud beer hall this afternoon ( to be repeated tomorrow= Sunday), but finished off the evening playing for a very fine contradance.

Well, since I no longer have my fiddle at university with me, not much in terms of Irish music, except listening as I do most days.

played a ceili last night where the organiser perversely required mostly Scottish dances [fair enough, he who pays the fiddler, etc] and hoping to play a session tonight in the neighbouring town. La fheile Padraig sona daoibh.

"Here in Idaho"… Hmm.. "diddle-e-dee … potatoes!" (goodnight folks).

Wondering if it’s worthwhile going to a session or if the pub will be a complete zoo.

Hopefully the session I am going to will not be a compete zoo (it is on after the Celtic game).

Is that Sweeney’s? That’s where I was thinking of going.

I’m heading to Croke Park to support the home club @CorofinGAA (that’s the Co Galway Corofin) in the Club Football Final and St Thomas’s (Co Galway also) in the hurling final.

No music for me. Stuck my head into the pub then bolted in the opposite direction. St. Patrick’s Day + Celtic game = nope.

None of the locals I know who are into ITM are doing anything for St Patrick’s Day. Those who aren’t played their SP gigs yesterday.

Two dates yesterday for almost 5 hours of playing. The first just my music partner and I, 3 hours of playing. Then 3 hours at a dinner party, with four of us. Great time with no "boistericty", just good company. Tonight we play at a coffee-house session. It’s pretty impressive how much fun you can have with modest, not excessive, lubrication. Full disclosure, my green-beer, all things in excess, days are behind me now.

Thanks for all the responses of what you’re doing or avoiding. It will be all over for this year for some of you, and others still have the evening to come!

Here in the New York City area, today is also the day of equal daylight and equal night, according to many astronomical sources. I always thought that happens on the Vernal Equinox (March 20, this year). But it turns out that the day on which the sun is directly over the equator, the daylight period is already longer than night, apparently owing to the Earth’s axis leaning in two planes counter to it’s plane of orbit around the sun.

1) Thursday had two gigs with a local group, a 2-hour gig around lunchtime and a 4-hour gig at night. Played uilleann pipes (D and C) and several different whistles (they sing songs in various keys).

2) Friday night, solo gig on Highland pipes.

3) Saturday night, pub crawl with some Highland pipers and drummers.

4) Tonight, the same small house party I’ve played at for around 20 years. I just sit in the corner for a couple hours and play uilleann pipes, whistles, smallpipes, and a few tunes out back of the house on the big pipes.

Odd this year that three days before St Pat’s was the biggest day for me! I don’t think that’s happened to me, in 40 years of doing this stuff.

Played 2 gigs over the weekend here in Colorado. Trish Santer, I got to see Paddy Callaghan last weekend at the Durango Celtic Festival, playing in a trio called SuprTrad—he’s wonderful.

My wife passed away on Paddy’s Day 2 years ago. I am at home reminiscing about our life together loving Irish music and culture and remembering being married in Ireland and visiting many times in the 27 years were were together.

My empathy PB. All the best to you.

Stockholm, Sweden:

I played together with some fellow musicians 10 minutes on a stage after the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. Cold and miserable, but people said it sounded good. Not a paid gig, but one we do for fun and for the community.

I played an afternoon session in our favourite Irish pub together with 4-5 other musicians. Quite enjoyable, especially the three little kids who were dancing around.

Then yesterday night I played an amplified gig together with a guitar player and singer whom I haven’t played with for 2½ years, who has just moved back to Stockholm. Very enjoyable.

Sorry for your loss, PB. I hope the music will be some solace for you.
We were married in England, but spent our honeymoon in Ireland: many happy memories too.

Richard, that’s some weekend you had!

I did nothing, more’s the pity. Health issues with both myself and my wife have swallowed up our musical endeavors. We did see a nice concert on Saturday night—Le Vent Du Nord. Not Irish, but some great trad music, played by masters.

So sorry PB. May you fondly remember each of those years.


As for my St. Patrick’s day, the coffee house was just as expected. Good tunes, even if chestnuts every one, in good company, a dram at home and then to a good night’s sleep.

PB, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how hard that must be.

So sorry PB! Your St Pat’s have a mix of feelings I can’t imagine.

Trish, that rugby had the most dramatic finish I can recall. BTW during our Pipe Band’s pub crawl on the 16th one of the pubs we crashed was a rugby pub and I stirred up a bit of resentment by playing Flower Of Scotland! We got out quick after that.

In Billings, Montana, we played for about 4 hours Friday night in an old mansion during an Irish-themed fundraiser for a local historical society. On Saturday afternoon we played for a couple more hours at a street party downtown after the parade, though it was quite chilly here, it wasn’t too bad. The day itself, we just stayed in.

Well done, Richard! I have also had a "Flower of Scotland" moment, after I chose to sing it after a very good barber shop quartet had sung "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" very nicely in an English folk festival session! If looks could kill…. misjudged or what?
And that match, yes! I had actually given up on Scotland by half-time and gone to do some practice for yesterday’s St Pat’s session, when suddenly husband bounded in - "Scotland have just scored 2 tries" - so it was back to the sofa!

The gig yesterday went well: we only get to play 3 tunes or sets, while the rest of the time is filled with songs, poems, or even dubious jokes!