St. Patrick’s Day in Prague

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This year saw a packed St. Patrick’s Day programme in Prague. While there were other events earlier in the week, my own celebrations began early on Friday evening with the St. Patrick’s Day reception at the πΎπ‘Žπ‘–π‘ π‘’π‘ŸΕ‘π‘‘π‘’π‘—π‘›π‘ π‘˜Γ½ π‘π‘Žπ‘™Γ‘π‘, graciously hosted by the Ambassador of Ireland Alan Gibbons and Dr. Ernesto Vazques del Aguila, co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign and Assistant Professor from University College Dublin. I was fortunate to receive a coveted invitation thanks to my links to the Centre for Irish Studies at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. It was a great crowd of people as always, and although the Guinness ran out quickly, there was still an ample supply of both whiskey and Baileys to enjoy.

Following the St. Patrick’s Day reception was an Irish Culture Night at πΎπ‘Žπ‘šπ‘π‘’π‘  π»π‘¦π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘ π‘˜Γ‘, situated in a part of town that was onceΒ  home to the Irish Franciscans in Prague, making it a fitting venue for an Irish event. After readings of Irish literature in Czech translation, there was a concert by the excellent local band Conamara Chaos, featuring the talented guest singer and viola player JΓ‘chym HΓ‘jek. I bought the band’s album π΄π‘›π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘‘ and can highly recommend it. Click here for more details and to listen to a sample of their music.

On Sunday, 17 March, I joined a parade organized by James Porter of the Czech Irish Business and Cultural Association (CIBCA), the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Prague since 1997. Decked out in green, a small group of us met β€œpod ocasem” as it is known locally, under the tail of the horse at the top of Wenceslas Square (see photo at top of post). From there we headed down to Old Town Square with a stop at π·π‘–π‘£π‘Žπ‘‘π‘™π‘œ π»π‘¦π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘–π‘Ž where Louise Kelleher of The Wild Geese Society of Czechia said a few words about the historical significance of the building.

Once we reached Old Town Square, we were treated to another concert with Irish music and dancing by Conamara Chaos and π΄π‘šβ„Žπ‘ŸΓ‘π‘› π‘›π‘Ž π‘β„ŽπΉπ‘–π‘Žπ‘›π‘›. Some members of the audience were also dancing the jig along to the music. Afterwards, a few of us made our way to the James Joyce, one of the Irish pubs in Prague, for some Guinness and more Irish music, this time provided by a lively group of local musicians jamming in the back room (see video below).

For those curious about my connection to Ireland or to the Centre for Irish Studies, I have edited over half a dozen books for both the centre and the embassy over the years, including π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ πΌπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘ β„Ž πΉπ‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘–π‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘  𝑖𝑛 π‘ƒπ‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘”π‘’π‘’ (pictured left), translated by Jana Stoddart and Michael Stoddart. See here for further details about works I have edited to date. If you have an article or a book you would like to have copy-edited, particularly if it’s related to Irish studies or to the social sciences, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’d be happy to help.

Blog post edited by Robin Finesilver.