St Patrick's Day 2024

The Shandon Arms, Cork, Republic of Ireland
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We had a great St Patrick's Day session (two days early) last week with a pleasing total of eight singers giving us 36 performances, mostly with some connection to Ireland.

This Friday's session will have no theme so anything goes as long as it's acoustic. Well, that's always the case theme or not. Your presence will be very gratefully received since we will be well down on the usual crowd with several people away. This is your chance to try out something new or to try singing or playing in public if you are unaccustomed. Colin, our MC, will be waiting to welcome you. With the weather starting to warm up and having found a heater the welcome indeed be warm.

Last week it was Denny who started off the session with Mountains of Mourne (Percy French).

The only song of the evening not to appear in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below is Tom Lewis's the St Patrick's Day song which Colin gave us. It's not that the song isn't available on YouTube, but the recording of it alone has been removed and it only remains on a full recording of Lewis's album 360 Degrees (All Points of the Compass).

Another one that just scraped through t the playlist was Paul's "Old times of old Ireland", a lightly reworked version of Hard times of old England (roud 1206).

Some songs less often sung at the club and deserving a mention, whether Irish or not, include:

• Colin - Ancient and old Irish condom
• Stuart - The cuckoo (roud 413)
• Stuart - KC moan (roud 4958)

Simon brought the session to a close with the classic joiner-inner, Wild Rover (roud 1173).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 8 performed)

St Patrick's Day - 2018

Last week's session was for St Patrick, who is patron saint of engineers and paralegals as well as of many geographical locations but of course our main focus was on Ireland.

Colin was MC and he started the evening off with The Gals O' Dublin Town (Roud 7989).

We had a good representation of song of Ireland but a number of other events and occasions were also marked. Talk of Cheltenham races led to Derek singing Creeping Jane (Roud 1012, Laws Q23) and Colin, no doubt planned anyway as part of his Irish set, The Galway Farmer (Steve Knightley).

Derek, further delaying his entry into the week's theme, pointed out that the preceding Sunday had been Mothering Sunday, which he traditionally marks with the singing of The Rose And The Gillyflower.

St Patrick's Day - 2017

Chicago River dyed green for St Patrick's Day 2015
Photo by Scott M Liebenson

No excuses this time, our session really was on St Patrick's Day and most of us managed at least some Irish songs though I'm not sure we answered Gary's challenge from the week before to name some decent Irish song writers from the last 50 (was it?) years.

With the absence of several regulars it was good to be joined by Steve G, who drops in occasionally, and Paul, who is a rare sight since his move to the wilds of Somerset.

Colin as MC put himself on first and sang Galway Farmer (Steve Knightley), an appropriate celebration of the Cheltenham Festival which usually coincides with St Patrick's Day and is therefore a honeypot for Irish owners, riders and punters.