Irish Festival

[Kev]

Liverpool Irish Festival

TOXTETH brewer Robert Cain is backing the city as the main sponsor of this month's Liverpool Irish Festival which starts on Thursday.
The festival runs until October 30 and celebrates the links between Liverpool and Ireland.

Highlights include theatre performances, poetry readings and concerts, beginning with legendary punk heroes The Undertones at Liverpool's Academy this Thursday.

Comedian Patrick Kielty plays the Royal Court on October 18 and folk singer Christy Moore appears at the Philharmonic Hall on October 21.

Cains' owners Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj said the decision to act as title sponsor was obvious as brewery founder Robert Cain was born in Cork - current Capital of Culture - in 1826. He came to Liverpool 18 years later where he established the famous Stanhope Street brewing plant.

Festival organisers said: "Their support and that of our funders has helped us to make this celebration of the traditional connections and contemporary links between Liverpool and Ireland the largest and most wide-ranging to date."

Cains hit national headlines last weekend when it was reported it had been snubbed in its attempt to join the independent Family Brewers of Britain Association, a story covered by the ECHO 21 months ago.

We revealed in January 2004 that the Dusanj brothers had applied 18 months beforehand to join the "royal family" of Britain's brewers, but were rejected on the grounds that members must have owned their business for more than 10 years.


* Visit www.liverpoolirishfestival.com (http://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com).

[Kev]

Irish festival branded 'success' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/1.0/-/1/hi/england/merseyside/4384874.stm)

A celebration of the largest immigrant community in Liverpool, the Irish, is branded a success, so it was :unibrow:

[Max]

So no mention of beautiful Irish ladies then?:unibrow:

[FKoE]

So no mention of beautiful Irish ladies then?:unibrow:


Have you been making eyes at the girls again Maxy?. :smoke: :)

[Max]

I wish.:p

[Kev]

ROCK legend Van Morrison is to play two concerts in Liverpool to launch this year's Cains Liverpool Irish Festival.

The Irish star will play two gigs at the Philharmonic Hall as part of a massive weekend of activity in October to kick-start the event.

News of the concerts came as city brewer Cains announced it is to sponsor the festival for a second year running.

And the Liverpool ECHO is linking up with the festival, one of the highlights of the city's cultural calendar, as an associate partner.

The festival begins on October 20 and runs until November 12. More than 50 events will take place at venues across the city, spanning folk and rock music, theatre, poetry, lectures, films and nightclubs.Ajmail Dusanj, joint managing director of Cains, said: "The original founder of this brewery, Robert Cain, originally came from Cork so we're delighted to once again support the festival.

"Liverpool is rightly proud of its strong Irish links and we think it's fantastic that an entire festival is being devoted to celebrating this unique culture."

ECHO editor Alastair Machray said: "The ECHO is proud to be associated with this event because it's such a varied and rich celebration of an important part of this city's heritage. We'll be keeping readers informed about the festival every step of the way."

Other events being lined up for the opening week of the festival include performances by bands The Dubliners and Hothouse Flowers, a one-man show by actor Donal O'Kelly and a performance by fiddler and flautist Frankie Gavin with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Strings.

Festival chairman Simon Glinn said: "Last year's festival saw more than 14,000 people attend events over a four-week period.

"This year's is going to be even better and we have big ambitions to build the festival over the next two years so that it becomes one of the highlights of the city's Capital of Culture celebrations.

"It's fantastic to have artists like Van Morrison performing because he's such a big star.

"The city's Irish links are well documented and we think it is important to celebrate them with a programme which reflects the diversity of Irish culture. So we hope there is something on the programme for everyone, from folk enthusiasts to kids just learning about the history of their city in school."

Tickets for the Van Morrison concerts, on October 20 and 21, go on sale on Friday August 11.

* For further information about tickets for other events, telephone the Philharmonic Hall box office on 0151 709 3789.

* For information about the Irish Festival, phone the festival hot-line on 0780 4286145 between 11am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday.

ECHO Essentials

ROBERT CAIN was one of the hundreds of thousands of Irish people who left their homes for a new beginning during the 19th century.

He was born in County Cork in 1826 and came to Liverpool as an 18-year-old.

In 1850, Robert entered Liverpool's brewing industry, buying a small pub in Limekiln Lane and brewing his own ales.

His fortunes rose alongside those of his adopted city and, by 1858, Robert was able to buy an old brewery site on Stanhope Street - the site where Cains Beers are still brewed today.

Over the years, he built 200 pubs on Merseyside, including three of the most gloriously extravagant pubs in Britain: The Philharmonic, The Vines and The Central. He also built a palatial mansion (featuring his monogram etched into every window arch) set in six acres of grounds.

Robert Cain died in 1907. He'd made a fortune, become Lord Brocket (his great-great-grandson made a name for himself on 'I'm a Celebrity..') and married the Lord Mayor of Liverpool's daughter.

[Bob Kurac]

Cains Liverpool Irish Festival 2006 website will go live this coming weekend, 19th August.

www.cainsliverpoolirishfestival.com

Van Morrison, Hothouse Flowers, Frankie Gavin with the RLPO, Mike McGoldrick, The Dubliners, Beoga, Niamh Parsons, Alan Burke and Gerry O'Connor, and Christy Moore - all now on sale from www.liverpoolphil.com

Festival runs 20th October - 12th November.

[Bob Kurac]

www.cainsliverpoolirishfestival.com appears to be fully operational now ...

[FKoE]

Allah bless, God, bless, Yaweh even 'L' bless the Irish Festival....



Whey hey the Dubliners , the flowers and Van the man are coming to town ;D

[Paul D]

Cross-culture festival hopes


IRISH and Yemeni communities will join in a cross-cultural link-up as part of this year's Liverpool Irish Festival.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=17795794%26method=full%26siteid=50061% 26headline=cross%2dculture%2dfestival%2dhopes-name_page.html

[Howie]

City gets ready for the best-ever Irish festival
Oct 12 2006
By Mike Hornby, Liverpool Echo

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icliverpool/oct2006/0/3/3CE8A9FB-008A-48EF-C2808CC122CDCE03.jpg

A CELEBRATION of Liverpool's historic links with the Emerald Isle got under way last night.

The Fourth Liverpool Irish Festival features two concerts by Van Morrison and a special appearance by The Dubliners.

The three-week event, sponsored by city brewery Cains, also includes more than 50 events at venues across the city, spanning folk, contemporary and rock music, theatre, poetry, lectures, films and nightclubs.

The festival is one of the highlights of the city's cultural calendar and is expected to be amajor part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008.

More (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=city-gets-ready-for-the-best%2Dever-irish-festival%26method=full%26objectid=17919693%26sitei d=50061-name_page.html)...

[FKoE]

Van the man next

weekend, then the dubliners, the hot house flowers.. sheesh we is being spoilt :celb (23):

[FKoE]

LIAM Ó MAONLAÍ OF THE HOT HOUSE FLOWERS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xu5u2nTkVk)

[Paul D]

We need to get The Pogues here for the 2008 event.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

[Paul D]

Van the man next weekend, then the dubliners, the hot house flowers.. sheesh we is being spoilt :celb

(23):

My Uncle was a World Champion at Irish dancing and he toured America with The Dubliners.:D

[FKoE]

My Uncle was a World Champion at Irish dancing and he toured America with The Dubliners.:D

Wow!!! thats

excellent, I hope he was a scouser though so he can be in the hall of fame ;)

Nice one Paulie :celb (23):

[FKoE]

We need to get The Pogues here for the 2008

event.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:


we've got tickets to see them in december in erm....Manchester :ninja:

[lindylou]

My Uncle was a World Champion at Irish dancing and he toured America with The Dubliners.:D

That's brilliant Paul D.

:celb (23):

[Paul D]

Wow!!! thats excellent, I hope he was a scouser though so he can be in the hall of fame ;)

Nice one

Paulie :celb (23):


He most certainly was.:)

[Paul D]

we've got tickets to see them in december in erm....Manchester :ninja:

So have I and I'm

really looking forward to it,the last time I saw them in Machester Shane McGowan introduced the band by saying "Good Evening Liverpool" much to my

delight.:celb (23):

[Paul D]

Staying with the Irish theme this is my

cousin

Angela Dolan is from Liverpool, England and has lived in the Tampa Bay area for the past six years.

Angela was lead singer with the band

"Evergreen" who played in Liverpool for many years at pubs, clubs and also at the Liverpool Irish Center. Angela frequently performs at festivals, at

the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center and is a regular on Tampa Bay radio stations.

This is Angela's first CD and is comprised of her

favorite songs from some of the best songwriters around.

http://www.angelaschoice.com/Angelas_songs.htm

[FKoE]

you have quite the illustrious clan there Paulie ;)

[FKoE]

just sampled a couple of your cuzs tracks there Paulie.... very polished,

and very well produced, its a very country feel aye ;D wheres me stetson

[Paul D]

just sampled a couple of

your cuzs tracks there Paulie.... very polished, and very well produced, its a very country feel aye ;D wheres me stetson

I suppose you have

to be a fan of that type of music to like it but she's spreading scouse culture to Florida so who am I to knock it.:)

[Max]

Have you been making eyes at the girls again Maxy?. :smoke:

:)


My avatars Eye is making eyes at them now.:ninja:

It knows their technique.

[FKoE]

My avatars Eye is making eyes at them now.:ninja:

It knows their

technique.



I'll buy you a pair of x-ray spex for chrimbo maxy :D

[FKoE]

I suppose you have to be a fan of that type of music to like it but she's spreading

scouse culture to Florida so who am I to knock it.:)

Me ald feller would love your cuz's music Paulie..in fact I may buy him it for chrimbo

:D

[Howie]

The look of the Irish
Oct 16 2006
AS the city looks forward to the fourth Liverpool Irish Festival, Paddy Shennan explores

some of the links between the city and the Emerald Isle
By Paddy Shennan, Liverpool

Echo

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icliverpool/oct2006/3/2/518C3333-CF2F-8273-28F46E90FB918AF9.jpg

THE people of

Liverpool and Ireland have never been too shy to shout about their special relationship ...

It's just that, a lot of the time, they haven't felt the

need to.

The links are so strong they are taken for granted - the feeling being that everyone knows Liverpool is the real capital of Ireland, so why

go on about it?

Perhaps that's why Liverpool and Dublin (Ireland's official capital) didn't twin until the 1990s (ceremonies took place in Dublin

in February, 1996 and Liverpool in May, 1997).

And perhaps that's why this Friday sees the start of only the fourth Liverpool Irish

Festival.

But, it seems, the feeling now is 'If you've got it - why not celebrate it?'

"The single biggest influence on Liverpool's culture

comes from Ireland," says Simon Glinn, chairman of the Liverpool Irish Festival Society.

"It's there in so many things, including the accent, music

and food - and then there is the geographical proximity."

Liverpool, after all, is closer to Dublin than it is to London.

Sponsored by Cains

(very fitting, as brewery founder Robert Cain came over to Liverpool from Cork as an 18-year-old in 1844) and supported by the Echo, the 24-day festival aims

to highlight how Irish music, literature, theatre and art has helped define Liverpool's culture.

Simon adds: "We think it's important to celebrate

the links with a programme which reflects the diversity of Irish culture. We hope there is something for everyone, from folk enthusiasts to children learning

about the history of their city in school."

Highlights include concerts by Van Morrison, The Dubliners, The Divine Comedy, Christy Moore and Hothouse

Flowers, while other events include films, plays, traditional Irish music sessions and a Liverpool Irish Heritage coach tour.

The tour is led by

historian Dr Ian McKeane, of the University of Liverpool's Institute of Irish Studies, who stresses that our links go back beyond the famine: "Liverpool and

Dublin, together with Belfast and Glasgow, were the four cities around the Irish Sea which became crucial to the Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries - and

the links between them were very strong.

"Liverpool was the gateway to England and there were a lot of opportunities for Irish people in the 19th

century, from agricultural labourers to construction and mill workers.

"And regarding the Irish famine (of 1845-52, which killed more than one million

Irish men, women and children), about 1.3 million people passed through the port of Liverpool from Ireland, so it's not surprising that many of them stayed

here." Indeed, the 1851 census revealed that about 90,000 people then living in the city (around 22% of its population) were born in

Ireland.

Meanwhile, one of the stops on Ian's heritage tour is Fenwick Street, where a feeding station was set up in 1847: "Amazingly, it managed to

feed 300,000 people in just one month, although the authorities soon realised that locals were also taking advantage of the soup and bread being given

out."

And, he stresses, there were other influxes besides that at the time of the famine: "It happened during different parts of the 19th century and

also after the Second World War, when so many people came over to work in the new health service and the social services - let's face it, the Irish nurse

became a cliche!"

So strong has been the connection, Liverpool was seen as the natural home of an Institute of Irish Studies, which was founded at the

University of Liverpool in 1988 and remains unique as the national centre of excellence for the study of Ireland in Britain.

Director of the Institute

is Belfast-born historian Professor Marianne Elliott who, in 2000, was awarded an OBE for services to Irish Studies and the Northern Ireland peace process

(she served on the Opsahl Commission on ways forward for Northern Ireland in 1993 and co-wrote its report, A Citizens' Inquiry).

She says: "I think

the links between Liverpool and Ireland are taken for granted. People just accept the connection, because it goes back such a long way - even the way people

speak in Liverpool can be traced back to Ireland."

The Institute caters for between 350 and 400 students each year, and they are attracted from across

the UK. Prof Elliott says: "To be Irish, at the moment, is fashionable, which is part of the reason some people decide they want to study here - and that is

a real plus for Liverpool."

Sean McGuire, who is on the board of the Institute and is, more famously, chief executive of St Helens Rugby League

Football Club, has a rich Irish ancestry - his dad, Michael, who was Labour MP for Ashton-in-Makerfield between 1964 and 1987, was born in County Mayo, and

came over to England when he was a young child, while the parents of his St Helens-born mum, Marie, came from Sligo.

He says: "The link isn't just

between Ireland and Liverpool, as these family connections were not at all uncommon in places like St Helens, Widnes and Wigan."

Sean, whose

14-year-old daughter, Maeve, was born on St Patrick's Day, adds: "I've always felt part of Liverpool, probably because the Irish link is woven into the

fabric of the city."

* The Liverpool Irish Festival 2006, sponsored by Cains and supported by the Liverpool Echo, takes place between October 20 and

November 12. For more information go to www.cainsliverpoolirishfestival.com or call the festival hotline: 07804 286145 (Mon-Sat,

11am-6pm).

Source:

icLiverpool (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpoolecho/news/echonews/tm_headline=the-look-of-the-irish%26method=full%26objectid=17940078%26page=1%2 6siteid=500

61-name_page.html)

[Max]

I'll

buy you a pair of x-ray spex for chrimbo maxy :D

I should develop my eyes like these for Crimbo more like.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharingan

I watch too much Anime.

[FKoE]

I think you should go to the opticians if you're seeing things that aren't there Maxy :D

[Paul D]

Me ald feller would love your cuz's music Paulie..in fact I may buy him it for chrimbo

:D

:PDT_Piratz_26:

[Paul D]

you have quite the illustrious clan there Paulie ;)

Dolan was first

found in Leinster where they are believed to be descended from Eochaidh, King of Leinster, and became one of the "Seven septs of Leix.

You're

speaking to Royalty now mate that's where my family still reside to this day.:unibrow:

[Max]

I think you should go to the opticians if you're seeing things that aren't there Maxy :D

My red eyes see

everyones, every movement.

Just like this eye.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Sharingan.gif

[FKoE]

looks like you've a touch of glucoma there maxy ;)

[FKoE]

Dolan was first found in

Leinster where they are believed to be descended from Eochaidh, King of Leinster, and became one of the "Seven septs of Leix.

You're speaking to

Royalty now mate that's where my family still reside to this day.:unibrow:


Ours originates in Munster and the deep south, apparently one

of our sept became the King of Nth Wales ;)

[Howie]

Ours originates in Munster and the deep south, apparently one of our sept became the King of Nth Wales ;)

Runs in the

family eh Fenian King of England (FKoE). :)

[FKoE]

hehehe :D

[Max]

Don't know my

Irish history.

My mums old surname was Duggan or something spelled like it's pronounced.

[Paul D]

Festival crowds loving the craic


LIVERPOOL'S Irish Festival has seen numbers rocket by 50% this year.

More than 20,000 people attended the 2006 event, held in association with the ECHO.

Organisers say they are delighted with the festival's growth and planning for next year is now underway.

They hope to build the month-long celebration into one of the city's highlights during Capital of Culture year.

Festival chairman Simon Glinn said: "The festival is becoming a destination event.

"I spoke to one couple who said they'd been planning on taking a week-long break in Ireland - but decided to come to Liverpool instead. "We're delighted the festival has increased so much in popularity and it's a testament to the quality of the programme of events.


"We hope to build on this year's growth so the festival continues to become a huge attraction for locals and visitors alike."


Ajmail Dusanj, joint managing director of festival sponsor Cains, said: "We've been extremely proud to be associated with this festival and would like to congratulate everyone involved on its success."


The celebration included big names such as Van Morrison, the Dubliners and the Hothouse Flowers.


It also featured plays, music, poetry, dance, tours and other events celebrating the historic links between Liverpool and Ireland.


But this year it also expanded to take in an education and community role.


Schoolchildren learned about the links between Liverpool and Ireland and took part in traditional Irish music, dance and drama sessions.


It culminated in a schools performance at the Philharmonic Hall where 230 children displayed their skills.


Many new and emerging artists also performed and used the festival to showcase their work.


* THE Liverpool Irish Festival started in 2003.


* The annual festival celebrates the significance of Irish traditions, music, literature, theatre and art in defining Liverpool's culture and status as a great European city.


* Previous years have seen performances by The Undertones and Christy Moore, a food fair, heritage tours and workshops by Whitbread prize winner Bernard O'Donoghue.


* This year it has been sponsored by Cains and funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Urban Cultural Programme, Liverpool Culture Company, Ireland Fund of Great Britain and the Community Foundation for Merseyside.