St Patrick's Day events in the North
Eat, drink and dance your way through St Patrick's Day in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester, with events at the Great Baltic Warehouse, Camp and Furnace, Hyde Park Picture House, Koffee Pot, The Printworks and much, much more.
The big St Patrick's Day parades may have taken place last Sunday, but there are still lots of ways to get celebrate the Emerald Isle this week, from classic film screenings and Irish-themed menus through to good, old-fashioned knees-ups.
Events in Liverpool
[B*Witched]
Independent Liverpool's St Patrick's Day Weekender
Doffing a cap to the Irish patron saint and our Emerald Isle neighbours, Independent Liverpool commandeer one of the year's best piss-ups with a St Patrick's Day Weekender. Over the two days you can brace yourself for Guinness, Irish whiskys and gins, Irish scran like stew, soda bread and Tayto, live bands and more. Fri 17-Sat 18 Mar, Great Baltic Warehouse, 12pm, £7.50
If you missed Sunday's parade, there's another on St Patrick's Day itself, leaving the Old Irish Centre on Mount Pleasant at 2.30pm, before snaking through the city centre. More info available here. Fri 17 Mar, Old Irish Centre, 2.30pm, free
You'll be hard-pressed to find tickets to the forthcoming sold-out Bongo's Bingo St Patrick's Day special, thanks to a covetable appearance from the B*Witched gals. If you can manage to track down a ticket or two via the waiting list, no doubt it'll be suitably raucous. Camp and Furnace, £sold out
LoveHistory present a though-provoking play in commemoration of those who lost their lives in the Great Famine of the 1840s, told through the tales of an Irish immigrant worker who describes her journey from
St Patrick's Day in Leeds
[The Butcher Boy]
All-Day St Patrick’s Day Festival
Voodoo Events (the folk behind student party mainstay PROJEKT) are throwing a St Paddy’s Day knees-up at Leeds Beckett Students’ Union, promising a jam-packed day of themed live bands, a cèilidh, dancers and performers, giveaways, games, face painting, DJs and even a ball pit until the small hours. This one’s not for the faint-hearted; expect the booze to be flowing from midday. Sat 18 Mar,
Hyde Park Picture House drag out the celebrations with a 20th anniversary screening of The Butcher Boy on 19 Mar. Adapted from Patrick McCabe’s 1992 novel of the same name, the film is set in early 1960s Ireland, where 12-year-old Francie Brady escapes his alcoholic father and mentally unstable mother by retreating into a world of daydreams. Sun 19 Mar, Hyde Park Picture House, 3.30pm, £5.50-£7
Manchester St Patrick's Day events
[Koffee Pot]
St Patrick’s Night Celebration
Join Koffee Pot and Irish Mancunian for a night of food, music and dancing, where a four-course dinner of Irish-inspired fare (view the full menu here; vegetarian option available) is accompanied by complimentary whisky or champers, Irish music from Irish-Mancunian duo Angela Durcan and Fiona Browne, Irish dancers and classic tracks playing until late. Don’t forget to pop back the next morning to ease the hangover with a plate of KP’s famous full Irish breakfast, which comes complete with black and white pudding and tatty cake. Fri 17 Mar, Koffee Pot, 7pm, £20
St Patrick’s Day Comedy Special
Frog and Bucket get into the spirit of things with a triple bill of top-class comedians, welcoming Steve Harris and Tom Stade, along with another yet-to-be-announced act and a F&B compere. Fri 17 Mar, Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 7pm, £14-£17
St Patrick’s Day at Irish World Heritage Centre
Where else more apt to spend St Patrick’s Day than at the Irish World Heritage Centre? Along with Iirsh breakfasts served from 10am, there’ll be live music all day from 2pm from the likes of Anita Ryan, DJ Kevin and Quare Craic. Fri 17 Mar, Irish World Heritage Centre, 10am, free
St Patrick's Day at The Printworks
The Printworks and Waxy O’Connor’s will be throwing a full programme of live music, DJ sets and Guinness from 3pm, with Quare Craic, Phil Rogerson, Tinkers, Bjorn Woodhall and DJ Dave all on the bill. There'll also be lots of food and drinks deals and specials across the complex, including steins – yep, steins – of Guinness at The Bierkeller available all week. Sat 17 Mar, The Printworks, 3pm, free
Levenshulme Market kick off the first of their weekly Friday night markets with a St Patrick's Day special in collaboration with Manchester Irish Festival, where all the usual great food and drink will come complete with Irish dance performances from Reel Rhythm, The Keegan Academy of Irish Dancing and The Grace Kennedy School of Irish Dancing. Fri 17 Mar, Levenshulme Market (railway station car park), 5pm, free
You can also browse a full programme of events as part of Manchester Irish Festival, which runs until Sun 19 Mar.