The Saint Patrick's Celtic Weave gala concert was presented by Coinford Construction and showcased the very best of Celtic traditional music, dance and song. The event took place on Saturday 13 March 2004 at the Friary Hall, Crawley, West Sussex.

Combining aspects of Celtic influences from throughout Europe, the critically acclaimed New Ross and District Pipe Band and Dunbrody Folk Group performed using traditional pipe, drum and acoustic instruments. The groups travelled from County Wexford, Leinster, in the southeast of Ireland especially for the event. The band was sponsored by Bank of Ireland, throughout the Saint Patrick's Weekend.

The New Ross and District Pipe Band has a history of travelling throughout Europe and North America to perform at large events and strives to achieve the highest possible musical standards. Their passion and commitment was not lost on the sell-out crowd that attended the event at the Friary Hall.

> Visit New Ross and District Pipe Band

The concert reflected the Celtic origins of many musical forms: utilising different types of instruments from flute and fiddle to electric guitar, the concert with provide both a bridge between cultures and across time. At the same time, the presentation used song and poetic verse to generate a lively atmosphere of participation and originality.

Enjoying the Event

The Saint Patrick's Celtic Weave attracted fans from throughout Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and Middlesex as well as event sponsors Mike and Gerry Hickey Hickey of Coinford Construction (pictured left with John Nolan). Representatives from the Irish Embassy in London were also in attendance. Mayor of Crawley, Brian Quinn was guest of honour.

The event was a special occasion for the Irish and Scottish communities in Crawley and demonstrated the feasibility of traditional musical events within the area. There was fantastic feedback for the event. It is certainly difficult to quantify the popularity of the event in words so let us just say that commemorative VHS videos sold out on the night and the CDs were not far behind.