ST PATRICK CHASED the snakes out of Ireland and subsequently gave us (and the wider world) an excuse to paint the town green every year.
There are several occasions that are universal to the Irish childhood experience, amongst them being a spectator at the St Patrick’s Day parade. It’s a tradition that continues each year and somehow seems to get bigger and more fun. This, of course, is a direct result of the tremendous organisation of The St Patrick’s Festival.
This year’s St Patrick’s Festival officially kicks off on Thursday, March 16 and the celebrations carry on until Sunday, March 19. As ever, there’s an incredible selection of events for everyone to enjoy over the festival’s duration from music, food, comedy and theatre. So, whether you’re looking to fill up on delicious meals at the Me Auld Flower food festival held in the historic Fruit and Vegetable Market in Dublin’s City Centre, or explore the abundance of talent across the capital with One City.
Opening the weekend of festivities and fun, in the Festival Quarter located in Dublin’s Collins Barracks, is Cultúr Club, presented by Mother. This event, taking place from 6pm on Thursday, March 16, has an excellent line-up featuring the work of queer artists to showcase and celebrate the Irish LGBTQ+ community across the arts scene and to show “the transformative power of the dancefloor,” as described in the festival programme.
Amongst some of Cultúr Club‘s highlights are live music performances from Choice Prize nominated songwriter and producer Elaine Mai who will be joined by May Kay and Sinead White to get the crowd in the party spirit with some classic club anthems. Elsewhere, PJ Kirby of the I’m Grand Mam podcast will be hosting the inaugural LGBTQ+ Géilí which will have wonderful performances from a variety of drag performers on the festival’s mainstage.
Speaking to The Journal about Cultúr Club at this year’s St Patrick’s Festival, promoter and co-founder of Mother, Cormac Cashman notes the significance of this event. “St. Patrick’s Eve has always been a huge night for clubbing; everyone has the next day off work so it’s always been a good time for a dance. We’re doing what we do best; a massive queer dance party, celebrating LGBTQ+ club culture and the phenomenal and diverse talent our community has to offer. From live music & DJs to drag, trad, storytelling and spoken word we have a lot on so get in early to catch it all!”
After the successes of their previous shows at the festival, notably programming a dance tent in the Festival Quarter, Cashman was delighted to be granted more space to play with for this year’s celebrations. This development means that Mother has grown from previously running a dance tent to operating 4 stages contained within the grounds, a bandstand and the main stage of the outdoor venue.
When asked about the importance of St Patrick’s Day and the large-scale celebrations that take place not only in Ireland but worldwide, Cashman considers how this is as much a celebration of our heritage more than anything.
“I’m not really sure how important it is to celebrate a saint, in that I think it’s less important to celebrate an individual religious figure than it is to celebrate Irish culture as a whole. It’s important to celebrate our culture, who we are and what the day represents. It’s a time to showcase how inclusive the Irish spirit is. Having a queer show open the weekend further showcases how far we’ve come as a society.”
If you’re looking to celebrate in style and dance the night away, tickets for Cultúr Club are available, here. You can also explore the full St Patrick’s Festival programme to see the full list of the weekend’s events on their website.
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