Global Irish Economic Forum… Friday and Saturday 4th and 5th of October.

Thu 3rd October 2013

The Global Irish Economic Forum takes place in Dublin Castle on Friday and Saturday 4^th and 5^th of October

You may wish to be aware that the opening and closing Plenary sessions and four panel discussion will be streamed live via the Forum website– www.globalirishforum.ie – and on the RTE site. Further material is also available on the Forum site.

In May 2013, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste issued invitations to members of the Global Irish Network which consists of over 300 of the most influential Irish and Irish-connected individuals abroad, all of whom have demonstrated a strong affiliation with Ireland and have a record of high achievement in international business or in assisting in the promotion of Ireland.

The overseas participants will be joined by members of the Government, Secretaries General of Government Departments, CEOs of State Agencies, members of the Opposition and leading members of the Irish business and cultural sectors. This year the Irish business attendees are made up of senior figures from multinational companies with significant investments here, Irish companies with a substantial international profile and representatives from the indigenous SME sector.

The four areas identified for discussion during the two days are overcoming the challenges facing the domestic economy and tackling youth unemployment; financial services and public financing; technology; and education (focussing on internationalisation and alumni engagement). There will also be appropriate opportunities for discussion on the future contribution of the Global Irish Network in the agri-food, tourism and cultural sectors. Within this framwork, we have asked participants to offer innovative policy advice and practical proposals in respect of the major challenges that face the country.

Minister Eamonn Gilmore

The elements available online are:

Friday, 4 Oct

9.30am

Opening address by the Tánaiste and plenary focussed on the theme of ‘Making Ireland the best small country in which to do business, get a job, raise a family and grow old’ (to include personal reflections on the topic by Irish literary figures, recent and longstanding emigrants and young entrepreneurs).

3.30pm

Panel discussion on “Opportunities for Ireland in the UK and Europe”

Panel discussion on “Ireland and the United States- building a relationship for the 21^st Century”

Saturday, 5 Oct

11.00am

Panel discussion on “The Gathering and its Legacy”

Panel discussion on “Trade and investment in high growth markets”

2.00pm

Plenary session in which the 18 working groups will report to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste

The Convention on the Constitution is recommending allowing Irish citizens abroad the right to vote in Irish Presidential Elections.

Sun 29th September 2013

THE CONVENTION ON THE CONSTITUTION IS RECOMMENDING ALLOWING IRISH CITIZENS ABROAD THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

Gerry Molumby, a tireless campaigner for votes for Irish overseas seen here with Michael D Higgins on the 2011 Presidential Campaign, said in a statement afterwards "Mission Accomplished"

At a conference in Malahide, North Dublin, held over the last few days members voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing Irish citizens living outside the State – including those in Northern Ireland – to cast a ballot in presidential elections.

The opinions of representatives of Irish communities living in Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Northern Ireland and the USA were heard live via video link-up.

Gerry Molumby, a great friend to the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society and a tireless campaigner for votes for Irish overseas said in a statement afterwards “Mission Accomplished”

Gerry went on to say ” I am full of joy, to be at last ‘counted’ as still an Irishman even though I live outside the state. The Irish presidency has matured greatly in the past 20 or so years thanks to Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, they have embraced literally the diaspora and asserted our contribution on a positive image of Ireland Abroad. We have gone from seeing the light in the window of the Aras to a ‘welcome on the mat’. “

Tom Arnold, chairman of the Constitutional Convention said: “This is an incredibly important issue that is hugely relevant to thousands of Irish citizens living all over the world and this was very clear throughout the entire process.”

The Government must now decide whether to hold a referendum. A detailed report will now be compiled containing all of the evidence that was presented over the weekend and the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention will go to Government.

Tom Arnold added “We witnessed a very thorough and detailed examination of the issues associated with extending Presidential voting rights to citizens who are resident outside of the State.

“This has been a powerful weekend where we utilised new technologies to gather a broad range of views and opinions on the subject from around the world. Through our live video link-up with representatives of Irish communities in various parts of the globe, we were offered a unique and powerful insight into the views of the diaspora on citizenship and their thoughts on the extension of voting rights.

“We were astounded with the size of the response and the strength of opinion on the issue. In preparation for this weekend, we considered thousands of these responses and built them into our analysis.

“Following this outcome, we will now be lodging a formal report with Government notifying them of the recommendation of the Convention regarding Presidential voting rights for Irish citizens who are resident abroad.”

Irish citizens abroad to be given the right to vote in Presidential elections.

The Questions asked were

Should citizens resident outside the State have the right to vote in Presidential elections?

On this question members voted:

· Yes – 78%

· No – 21%

· Undecided – 1%

Should citizens resident in Northern Ireland have the right to vote in Presidential elections?

Here Convention members decided:

· Yes – 73%

· No – 20%

· Undecided – 7%

Which of these citizens living outside the island of Ireland should have the right to vote in Presidential elections? (Mark X in ONE box)

o All Irish citizens resident outside the island of Ireland

o Just citizens who have lived in Republic of Ireland.

o Just citizens who have lived in Republic of Ireland as adults and who have left for a period of time (see below)

o Undecided/No opinion

On this, members voted:

o All Irish citizens resident outside the island of Ireland – 36%

o Just citizens who have lived in Republic of Ireland – 26%

o Just citizens who have lived in Republic of Ireland as adults and who have left for a period of time (see below) – 27%

o Undecided/No opinion – 11%

If there should be a time limit on how long citizens resident outside of the island of Ireland can have a vote, what should that be? (Mark X in ONE box)

o No time limit

o Voting rights only for 5 years abroad or less

o 10 years

o 15 years

o 20 years

o 25 years

On this, members voted:

o No time limit – 38%

o Voting rights only for 5 years abroad or less – 14%

o 10 years – 17%

o 15 years – 20%

o 20 years – 6%

o 25 years – 4%

The Convention on the Constitution was established by Resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. Its membership of 100 includes 33 elected representatives and 66 members of the public.

Its purpose is to consider and deliberate on eight separate matters on which it will make recommendations (as possible future amendments to the constitution) and report to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

BRIGHTON IRISH NIGHT AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE 22nd September

EVENT DATE: Sunday 22 September 2013

BRIGHTON IRISH SOCIETY is entertaining delegates at the Labour Party Conference — and you can be part of it.

There are two parts to the night…

*The first part is the meeting

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN LABOUR MAKE ON IRELAND?
starts at 8.00pm Sunday, 22 September in the New Madeira Hotel, http://www.newmadeirahotel.com/

19-23 Marine Parade,

Brighton BN1 1TL.

just ‘a stone’s throw’ from Brighton pier.

This is a chance to hear a cross-party panel of speakers address the issue of party policy in the not so long build up to the 2015 General Election.

speakers:

VERNON CROAKER MP, shadow spokesman on Northern Ireland
ALEX MASKEY MLA, Sinn Fein
DR ALASDAIR McDONNELL MP, leader SDLP
JACK DROMEY MP, shadow minister Communities & Local Government
Chair: Martin Collins, Agreed Ireland Forum

*The second part is the entertainment…

Yes its IRISH NIGHT LIVE from 9.30pm and it features the talented Brighton trio, “Right Said Ted” .

Includes a Late Bar where you can celebrate your winnings from the Dublin v Mayo All-Ireland football final earlier in the afternoon.

(Dublin are presently 4/5 favourites).

Crawley Irish Festival 2013

EVENT DATE: Sunday 25 August 2013

Crawley Irish Festival - Sunday 25 August 2013 at the Hawth, Crawley, RH10 6YZ

The 18th Crawley Irish Festival will take place at The Hawth, Crawley on Sunday 25 August with live music, Irish dance and GAA Sports.

For the second year running, the event will have no entry cost and free entry to music and dance stages. So come along and enjoy the craic!

LONDON ROSE SHOWS HER CONCERN

Fri 14th June 2013

London Rose Shows her concern for world’s hunger

Crawley’s very own London Rose of Tralee, Grace Kenny whose roots are in Tullow, Co. Carlow, took time out of her busy schedule to visit Concern Worldwide’s London office to give some encouragement to this year’s Concern London Triathalon relay team.

L-R Natalie Jones (run), Carla Thompson (swim), London Rose Grace Kenny and Mila Robinson (cycle).

The event, on 27th and 28th July at London ExCel involves a 10km run, a 40km cycle and a 1.5km swim. All proceeds raised for Concern Worldwide will go to their education and nutrition programme in Liberia where it’s estimated over a third of children under five years old are stunted due to poor nutrition.

‘Team Concern’ with Grace.

Grace is one of three British Roses from London, Manchester and Liverpool who were among 23 young women selected at the Rose of Tralee Regional Festival last month. And with the 9 already pre-selected 32 go forward to the RTE televised stages of the International Festival in the Dome with host Dáithí Ó Sé later this summer

Grace with Brian O’Connell, Special Projects manager Concern Worldwide (UK)

Several corporate teams are competing on behalf of Concern Worldwide but, with only days before the deadline for registration, there are still places available. If you fancy taking part or would like to support the worthwhile project contact maria.mcdonnell@concern.net or ring 020 7801 1873.

Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to tackling hunger and transforming lives in the world’s poorest places. They are working for a world where no one dies for want of safe and nutritious food and use their expertise and local knowledge to help people and communities develop lasting solutions to hunger so that they can lead happier, healthier lives and lift themselves out of poverty.

Visit their website on www.concern.net and find out how you can help them to help others.

Celtic and Irish Cultural Society’s Grace Kenny is crowned the London Rose of Tralee 2013.

Wed 17th April 2013

The night of 12th April – or the early morning of the 13th – was a time of celebrations as Crawley’s Grace Kenny with roots in Tullow, Co Carlow and sponsored by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society was crowned London Rose of Tralee 2013.

Sean Moriarty of the Irish World covered the event and we thank him for allowing his piece to be posted here……….

Grace Kenny, London Rose of Tralee 2013

Judges lose their hearts to a Crawley Girl

A former Britain’s Got Talent contestant has been named as the 2013 London Rose.

Grace Kenny from Crawley, Sussex and a political student at Portsmouth University, is a member of the Celtic Coleens Irish dance troupe that made it to the semi-finals of the popular television series two years ago.

The 21-year-old was selected from 13 other hopefuls from at the annual London Rose of Tralee selection ball at the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood on Friday night.

Grace, whose late father Martin hails from Tullow in County Carlow and whose mother, Ronnie, is from Kent, represented the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society, on the night.

She wowed the judges with her Irish dancing and clearly demonstrated why she finished eighth in the world championships in Dusseldorf, Germany, a few years ago.

Grace with best friends Laura Eliott and Tara Mooney

She also impressed the 250-strong audience with her stories of world travel and helping the less well off in Nepal and why she believes that politics is not boring and her ambitions to make it interesting to younger people.

Grace was in a state of shock when her name was called out by chairman of the organising committee, Noel O’Sullivan.

She said: “I could not believe it, I stood there and had to second guess myself and saw all the other Roses looking at me. It still has not sunk in. I am so excited to be the London Rose of Tralee. I heard my name being called out and then saw my family and friends all looking so happy. I was shaking like a leaf. It is so exciting. I am been asked to do interviews and I am being called for photos. I don’t know what way to look. I can’t express how honoured and flattered I am. I want to do everything I can to represent the Irish community in the greater London area. I want to show how proud and how strong the community is in this country. I will give it my all. My dad would be so proud now . This would mean more than the world to him. Mum is over the moon too. “

Grace with proud Mum Ronnie (Veronica)

Her mother, Ronnie (Veronica) was amongst the 30 strong group of supporters that travelled from Crawley to London for the big occasion.

After Grace’s name was called out she told the Irish World: “I can’t believe it. She lost her dad three years ago. I am so proud of her and all her family are so proud of her. It is amazing. She has been Irish dancing since she was four. She is so focused on everything she does. It has happened so quickly. This is just marvellous.”

Grace was sponsored on the night by the Celtic and Irish Culture Society, organisers of the Crawley Irish Festival each August.

CICS chairman John Nolan was also in the Crown Moran Hotel on Friday night to support Grace. Mr Nolan is also involved in the Carlow Association in London so there was a double reason to celebrate given Grace’s Tullow heritage. It was the first time that CICS entered the London heat.

He told the Irish World: “I looked high and low to see who we could nominate. Grace stood out a mile. It was the way she performed on Britain’s Got Talent that swung it. She said a few words to the audience, live on television, in front of 11 million people, of how she appreciated the input of the Irish community in Crawley in her life. She stands for the principles of the Rose of Tralee and we are delighted.”

Grace is crowned by last years rose Nóra Ní Fhlannagáin

Grace will now go forward to the Rose of Tralee Regional finals in Portlaoise in late May and early June.

She follows in the footsteps of outgoing London Rose Nora Ni Fhlannagain who was on hand to present Grace with her official London Rose sash.

Nora said:”I have had an incredible year. I want to express my gratitude to the London committee, there is so much that goes on behind the scenes that I never knew about, like the effort that is gone in tonight. Only one person can go away with the London sash but all 14 contestants here tonight can go away with great memories. This is a life changing experience – even for this who don’t win on the night. Some of my highlights have been meeting President Higgins when he came to Ruislip, meeting Enda Kenny, I have been held in the air by London Irish Rugby Club players and I have meet Irish Paralympians. I have met some incredible London Irish people and that has all been made possible by the London Irish community. I have been welcomed with open arms by that community. “

Grace being interviewed by Sean Moriarity of the Irish World

Another guest of honour was current Rose of Tralee, Nicola McEvoy from Luxembourg. This was Nicola’s only official London appearance as part of her year-long Rose of Tralee activities.

She said: “It was fantastic evening and it is great to be back in London, I lived in Kent before I moved to Luxembourg. I want to congratulate Nora on being a fantastic London Rose and being a fantastic representative for the city. She has become a real good, lifelong friend and that is one of the beauties of the Rose of Tralee International Festival. I am eight months into my year as the International Rose and I have found myself in places I never imagined I would be in. My face is on milk cartons in Kerry, I have sang a song, in Bengali, in front of 2,000 children in Calcutta, I stood between Peter Robinson and Martin McGuiness in Stormont. My biggest highlight was travelling to America in March, participating in the New York St Patrick’s Day parade and travelling to Washington and standing in the East Wing of the White House and meeting President Obama.

Grace's supporters in the crowd.

The Kerry mayor Terry O’Brien travelled over to represent the county and the Rose of Tralee head office.

He said: “I was expecting to be in the 33^rd county but in reality this is more like the 11^th or 12^th county such is the Irishness that was in that room on the night. The quality of the Roses was brilliant , when I saw the first one I picked the winner, then I said the same about the second and the third. It is as a credit to the London Centre that they can fly the flag for Tralee over here. “

The Crawley Irish Festival to take place in the grounds of The Hawth Theatre on Sunday 25th August.

Sat 6th April 2013

Sunday 25th August sees the 18th AnnualCrawley Irish Festival moving to the grounds of The Hawth Theatre.

As the CRAWLEY IRISH FESTIVAL enters its 18th year the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society are delighted to join forces with The Hawth Theatre in organising the much looked forward to event on Sunday the 25^th August.

Mayor of Crawley - Cllr Keith Blake, Grace Kenny - Crawley's representative in the Rose of Tralee contest with Irish dancers Tara Meave and Niamh Mooney and John Nolan - CICS chairman.

At a packed Spotlight Room at The Theatre on Easter Monday the announcement was made in the presence of His Worship, Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Keith Blake.

The Mayor of Crawley Cllr Keith Blake toasts to the success of the festival.

The festival the only one of its type in the South East of Britain and the longest running cultural event in Crawley has built a reputation as a great family day out over the August weekend. And with free admission a great day fun is guaranteed. Although the line-up has yet to be confirmed the festival will see eight hours of music from Ireland’s tops entertainers mixing it with London based bands and popular local groups adding a real ‘Feadh Ceoil’ experience to the day.

Music was provided by the Brendan Behan Band in collaboration with Emerald Element

Audience are treated to a fab display of Irish dancing by sisters Tara, Meave and Niamh Mooney.

The younger element of the community are well catered for with a free special children’s entertainment marquee involving games, song and story and art workshops with particular emphasis on Irish traditions and folklore.

In addition, sport and cultural identity are each featured prominently with various food and craft stalls and displays with GAA sports shown on the big screen.

John Nolan of the organising committee said… “We are delighted to be involved with The Hawth Theatre and would like to thank Dave Watmore, Steve Crane and the staff for their help and support in making the 18th Annual event possible. We want to make the festival a real success where both parties can be proud of and would like to see this continued in the future.”

The Mayor of Crawley, Cllr Keith Blake wished the CICS a great festival day and made a toast to a successful event.

The general manager of the Hawth, Dave Watmore said “We welcome the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society to the Hawth Theatre and look forward to working with them. They have contributed alot to the cultural make-up of the town in the way they encourage cultural co-hesion and wish them a successful event”

The Celtic and Irish Cultural Society (C,I,C,S,) have found that in these austere times the need to develop partnerships and help share resources with the arts and cultural forums such as the Hawth and now that the Theatre is open during the months of August all this is now possible. The organisers saw it being difficult lately to make ends meet and the heavy restrictions with health a safety and the drop off of volunteers and helpers didn’t help. The Hawth has the resources to help with this.

The Hawth and its grounds lend itself well to a great festival venue. The layout of the externals with its soft and hard landscaping allows for the many requirements of the event. Access to the Hawth and parking is good. It’s well bounded and safe and the man-made amphitheatre at the rear is only crying out for the main music stage. The premises has a large marquee that is built especially for the Summer Months and the ideal place for the traditional stage. The Spotlight room is to be adapted for the Festival ceili and the Studio will facilitate the Irish Dance competition.

The Hawth’s many rooms now make it possible to have music and dance workshops. And if the weather is going against us we can go for Option B and move inside. It’s a ‘win win’ situation for all.

*SAVE THE DATE *

CRAWLEY IRISH FESTIVAL

Sunday 25th August – Noon till 8.00pm

Crawleys Celtic and Irish Cultural Society enjoys a successful St Patrick’s Day at the races

Sun 31st March 2013

Crawley’s Celtic and Irish Cultural Society staged one of their biggest St Patrick’s Day events ever and this time outside of the town of Crawley.

The Brendan Behan band combine with Ciaróg to provide a great sound

In a move away from the Town Centre the CICS joined forces with Lingfield Pk Racecourse and turned the day green with live music dancing displays, bagpipes, kiddies games and lots of shenanigans as Ireland’s National day was celebrated with a real ‘craic’.

Enjoying the craic...

Full of colour

John Nolan the chair of the organising body said “The logistics of organising the annual parade and celebrations are becoming harder each year in Crawley, which is a real shame. We seem to be stangled with more red tape each year. The new arrangements in creating road closures has necessitated us as organisers to enter into a contract with a suitable road traffic marshalling company such as the Police or a private organisation set up to do this and the costs are far beyond our budget.

Added to that the number of volunteers and stewards have dropped off in recent years.

'Bionic' Leprachaun & Crawley Rose Grace Kenny

So in keeping with our objectives we entered into partnership with Lingfield Pk racecourse and are delighted with its success. Even though the weather was wet the layout of the premises at Lingfield allowed all our events to take place indoors which was great. There was a great Irish party atmosphere about the day and something Lingfield park are very pleased about.”

Also introduced to the crowd was Grace Kenny Crawley’s nomination in the Rose Of Tralee Contest who got a good luck cheer from the attendance and was on duty to present the winning owners of the races with their prizes

The whole day event got a big thumbs up from the crowd. Ciara Murphy from Dublin a regular goer to Lingfield races said “I would like to thank the organisers for such a fab event. Great day, great craic, one of the best Paddy’s Days I’ve had in years and I didn’t even win that much money”

Erin Birch of Crawley shows off her St Patrick's Day masterpiece

Debbie Hay the marketing manager at Lingfield Pk was more than impressed with the day ” It was a marvellous day and we’d like to thank the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society for helping to organise such a successful event”

With this success the CICS are now in discussions with Lingfield Pk regarding an Irish Race night in Autumn.

Paul and Mike Stanworth of Emerald Element

The Mooney sisters gave a great dancing display

Piper Barry Murphy from Cork meets up with Irish jockey Jimmy Quinn from Wexford and Crawley Rose, Grace Kenny from Carlow and Crawley.

Grace Kenny, Crawley's representative in the Rose of Tralee Contest presents a prize to the winning owners of the 3.15 race

THE OUTSIDE TRACK at Grayshott Folk Club Saturday 13th April 2013 at 7.30pm

EVENT DATE: Saturday 13 April 2013

THE OUTSIDE TRACK at Grayshott Folk Club Saturday 13th April 2013 at 7.30pm

THE OUTSIDE TRACK www.theoutsidetrack.com at Grayshott Village Hall GU26 6TZ
On January 1st 2012, acclaimed international Celtic band, The Outside Track, celebrated picking up the ‘Group of the Year’ award at both the Live Ireland Music Awards 2012 and the TIR Irish Music Awards. Their lead singer, Norah Rendell was simultaneously awarded “Vocalist Of The Year”.

A stunning synthesis of virtuosity and energy, The Outside Track’s marriage of Canadian, Scottish and Irish music and song has been rapturously received around the world. Hailing from Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton and Vancouver, its five members are united by a love of traditional music and a commitment to creating new music with the tradition as a foundation. Using fiddle, accordion, harp, guitar, flute, step-dance and vocals, these five virtuosos blend boundless energy with unmistakable joie de vivre.
Each player in The Outside Track is a master of their chosen instrument.
Such individual flair alone would be enough to recommend the band but in this case their combined talents are so much greater than the sum of their parts and worth the visit to see them at Grayshott!

The Outside Track have enjoyed five years of extensive touring in the UK, Europe,Canada and the USA, including appearances at: Milwaukee Irish Fest, CelticConnections, Celtic Colours, Vancouver Celtfest, Sidmouth, and Whitby Festivals.

With support from Bob Wood all Tickets are £12 and can be obtained in person from:
Grayshott Books, The Square, GRAYSHOTT, Nr Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6LQ
Telephone: 01428 607096 for postal tickets or more information

GRAYSHOTT FOLK CLUB www.grayshottfolkclub.co.uk & www.grayshott.com/folk put on a great range of live music, which could all loosely be categorised as Folk music. Some of it is Traditional, whilst their gig listings offer Folk/Rock, Folk/Jazz, Folk/Blues as well as a good share of Irish/Celtic music. Keep an eye on their website for future events.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT on the forthcoming 18th ANNUAL CRAWLEY IRISH FESTIVAL including ‘Special Discount Offer’ on tickets for The Irish House Party show at The Hawth Theatre.

EVENT DATE: Monday 1 April 2013

Check out this Special Offer on Tickets for The Irish House Party show at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley including a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT on the forthcoming 18^thCRAWLEY IRISH FESTIVAL.

Irish House Party 'Special Offer' Flyer

We are delighted to reveal we are collaborating with The Irish House Party http://www.theirishhouseparty.com/who’ll be performing the final gig of their 2 month tour of the UK – where they’ve played to full houses and some great reviews – at The Hawth Crawley http://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/thehawth/ and at the same time help raise funds for Crawley’s Celtic and Irish Cultural Society.

The Irish Post newspaper highlighted the show as ‘A PARTY THAT WILL BRING THE HOUSE DOWN’ with the Irish World Newspaper describing it as ‘AN ENTERTAINING BLAST’

Dublin’s no.1 award-winning music and dance show offers the warmest of welcomes to the finest house party in town. As seen on The Late Late Show, The Irish House Party stars All-Ireland Champion musicians, fantastic presenters with great banter and not forgetting some excellent Irish dancing, this amazing multi-talented gathering delivers the best traditional night of musical entertainment the Emerald Isle has to offer! The show is one of Dublin’s must see events with fans such as Dara O’Briain, Louis Walsh and The Dubliners so you’ll find yourself in wonderful company as you take your seats at The Hawth

Yes it’s promised as a great night of celebrations in true Irish style in Crawley with extra entertainment prior and that looked forward to SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Tickets are normally at £19.50 (Bkg fee applies) but to avail of this SPECIAL OFFER – CALL THE BOX OFFICE ON 01293 553636 AND QUOTE ‘IRISH FESTIVAL OFFER’ AND SEE THE SHOW FOR JUST £15 (plus £1 booking fee)!

The Show starts at 7.30 but prior to that from 6.00 onwards some of Crawley’s local dancers and musicians will entertain you in the Spotlight Room – next to the bar – where pre-show SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT will be made on behalf of the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society on the forthcoming 18^thCRAWLEY IRISH FESTIVAL.

The Irish House Party play New York

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Owen Lewis of Folk Roots Magazine UK wrote of their gig in Shrewsbury on 19th March as …..

” At last a theatre show that has come out of Ireland without the dross that usually follows. We saw no green Guinness, no leprechauns and no tricolor wigs; instead we got six incredibly talented and delightful musicians who simply wanted to bring the sound of Ireland without the ludicrous plasticity that so many of the drunken onlookers lining the streets of every Patrick’s Day procession, think that Irish culture is about.
Such is the Irish House Party. A band reminiscent of the Chieftains, the House Party was alive with the sounds of Uilleann pipes, Bodhran, Whistles and Flutes, Harp and the strings department provided some inspired Banjo and Guitar work.
Between them they conjured up images of the cliff tops of Kerry, the rocky roads of Mullingar, the characters of the Dublin pubs and all served up in such tight and exciting music. Each note was a jewel, each beat urging the observer to jump up and grab the nearest partner and whirl a handsome jig. The music was infectious and entered the psyche in seconds.
The unique selling point is there are no pretensions amongst this highly approachable and highly entertaining band. Without all the ballyhoo that people wrongly associate with Irish music we saw players who will I am sure make as much of a mark on Irish music as the greats that have gone before.
Ireland is alive with incredibly talented musicians, in every county there are players who will, rather like these guys, very earnestly, play something utterly amazing for you. Not to look good, but simply because the spirit of the music is in them and to try and confine it would be impossible. Well The Irish House Party is made up of those kinds of players and the musicality just oozes out of every number. I think the beautiful Irish dancer stole a few hearts in the audience. This reviewer’s for one!
Not afraid of incorporating contemporary songs such as U2’s, Where the streets Have No Name, and Dougie Maclean’s, Caledonia, the two 50 minutes sets had the audience spellbound as they deliciously served out note after perfect note. This is the first tour over in the UK for the Party and if they can continue to raise the craic to ninety, I can only imagine we will see so much more of them on the British Folk Scene and so we should. ”