If you are born on 29 February, you can consider yourself very special… or very unlucky! The chances of being born on a leap day (the extra day we have every four years in leap years) are 1 in 1461. So, people born on that day are rare. But they also only have one “real” … Continue reading “Happy Leap Day!”
Ireland has a new bank holiday: St Brigid’s Day, the first to be in honour of a woman. From 2023, it is marked on the first Monday in February. St Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, alongside St Colmcille and St Patrick. Like so many Irish celebrations, the Catholic saint’s day on 1 … Continue reading “Ireland Has a New Holiday”
Ireland is celebrating 100 years of independence in 2023. This St Patrick’s Day video from the Irish government looks back at a hundred years of peacebuilding milestones to the background of the beautiful traditional song “Danny Boy” sung by Tolü Makay. The video covers Irish membership of the League of Nations and then the United … Continue reading “Peacebuilding for St Patrick’s”
St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, is a great time to inject some Irish culture into your classroom, with these videos, audio and interactive activities. Happy St Patrick’s Day – some of the figures may be a bit approximate in this promotional video, but it’s great for becoming familiar with some Irish traditions and traits, and … Continue reading “St Patrick’s Day on the Web”
St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, is the Irish national day. But there are many communities of Irish origin around the world and on St Paddy’s Day, everyone is Irish! There is a large Irish community in the U.S. and the parades in Chicago and New York are famous. The Chicago River, and the Liffey in … Continue reading “Happy St Patrick’s!”
The St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin was one of the first victims of the COVID pandemic last year and it’s been cancelled again this year for the same reason. But never fear! Let’s face it, most of us were not going to get to Dublin to celebrate Paddy’s Day on 17 March, but we … Continue reading “St Patrick’s Festival 2021”
Stretch St Patrick celebrations for one more night with traditional Irish band Altan, in concert in Rennes on 19 March. They’re also in Colomiers on 13 April. The five members of Altan, mainly from Donegal, have been playing together for more than thirty years. Fiddle, guitar, accordion and bouzouki blend to play traditional tunes and … Continue reading “Fabulous Irish Music in Rennes and Colomiers”