St Patrick's Day and all things Irish
Dia daoibh. There are more than 2,369 Irish nationals living and working in Luxembourg and they have stamped their mark firmly on the Grand Duchy with traditional pubs, traditional music sessions, and Gaelic football and hurling events.
St Patrick's Day (17 March) is Ireland's National Day and is a religious and civil celebration for the Irish community all over the world, with spectacular parades in the cities of Dublin, New York, Montreal and Sydney.
You can join in the "craic" in Luxembourg too, as we've listed highlights of the celebrations, and where you can find all things Irish in the Grand Duchy.
St Patrick's Day celebrations
Pre-pandemic, the Feast of St Patrick usually started with a procession from Gëlle Fra followed by Mass at St Alphonse Church at 11.00 and a feast (Irish and Luxembourgish food).
The church is currently undergoing renovations, so this year the Feast of St Patrick will be celebrated at Église Saint Pie X, at 112 avenue Gaston Diderich in Belair on Sunday 19 March at 11.00.
On 17 March, at around 20.00, the tower in Gasperich will be lit green, instead of the Town Hall, due to construction work in Place Guillaume.
Comhaltas Luxembourg has organised a St Patricks Day Ceili on Saturday 18 March at the Hollerich Cultural Centre at rue Emile Lavendier. Doors open at 19.30 and there will be live music and a bar. Tickets cost €10. There is also a Ceili for kids in the afternoon from 14.30 to 16.30 with an entry fee of €5.
The Irish Club of Luxembourg is hosting a St Patrick's dinner attended by the Irish Ambassador to Luxembourg, Stephen Dawson - see the section on societies and clubs for more information.
Up in Clervaux, the Cornelyshaff is hosting a St Patrick's evening on Friday 17 March, with an extended set from the Kitchen Quartet performing traditional Irish tunes and songs. The three-course meal will include Irish specialities such as seafood chowder, Guinness beef stew, whiskey sirloin steak and traditional fish and chips. Unfortunately it sold out a month in advance.
Head to Eirelux in Howald for the band Altagore, coming directly from the Emerald Isle to perform on 17, 18, and 19 March.
The Black Stuff are open from 14.00 until late on Friday 17 March. There'll be plenty of Guinness, food truck Celtic Fish & Chips, and live music from Alizetti, Luxifer, The Ferocious Few, and the Fred Barreto Band, plus DJ Andrew Martin.
Head to the purple lounge at Casino 2000 at Mondorf-les-Bains for a St Patrick's night of fish and chips with music from Jon Meehan covering Rockin Roots and Swinging Blues. You can reserve a place here.
The Shamrock pubs have events on 17 March. So head to the one on Boulevard Royale in town or the one in Clausen for some Guinness, and live music.
The Lounge Act One in Kirchberg has a French chef who lived in Ireland and is willing to combine both for a night of St Patrick's fun on 17 March from 18.00 to 3.00. There's more Irish celebrations on the same night at Cafe du Gymnase in Dudelange.
A St Patrick's Day Pub Crawl invites you to put on your green glad rags and meet at Rocas Bar, where a Pub Crawl guide will take you to several bars, including free entrance to Apoteca bar and club at the end of the night.
Head to Bistro beim Décken at rue de la Gare, Schieren, for the After St Patrick's Day party on 18 March.
The British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) has organised a spring festival from 19-24 March at Ciné Utopia, which will feature three Irish-language films, including the Oscar nominated An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl). Details will be posted on 6 March on www.bifilmseason.lu.
Rosie Stewart will be holding an Irish Singing Workshop on 25 March from 14.00 to 18.00 at Cafe le Bovary in Weimerskirch. There will be singing sessions from 20.00 at the same location later that day. You can register to participate by emailing gblitgen@pt.lu.
Unfortunately, you have missed the Zeltik Festival, which took place between Thurday and Saturday 9-11 March in Dudelange.
All things Irish in Luxembourg
The Irish embassy website for Luxembourg is not just the place to go for visa or passport enquiries. It hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. The embassy's Emigrant Support Programme supports Irish communities' overseas by funding non-profit organisations and projects.
The Global Irish Network promotes Ireland's economic, cultural and tourism messages in key markets.
Irish clubs and societies
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Luxembourg, founded in 1982, promotes Irish language through music, dancing and cultural events. The Club usually hosts a Céilí each year for St Patrick's Day (and one in the afternoon for children) as well as concerts with traditional Irish musicians, but is yet to confirm if it will do so again in 2022.
Comhaltas also runs an Irish summer school in August where children over six years old can learn step dance, play the Irish tin whistle and hear songs and stories about Irish mythology and legends.
The Irish Club of Luxembourg established since 1985 organises social events and Irish film screenings. ICL will be hosting a St Patrick's Dinner on Wednesday 15 March at the Hotel Parc Belair on 111 Avenue du Dix Septembre. It will be attended by the Ambassador of Ireland to Luxembourg, Stephen Dawson. Lecturer in Irish studies at the University of Luxembourg, James Gallacher, will present a light-hearted look at James Joyce's engagements with St Patrick.
Gaelic sports teams in Luxembourg
If you're a player or just a fan of hurling or Gaelic football you won’t miss out in Luxembourg. The Gaelic Sports Club of Luxembourg has women's and men's teams in Luxembourg that regularly play against teams from neighbouring countries including Belgium and Germany. The club also has Hurling and Camogie teams.
In pre-pandemic times, the organisers also ran Club na nÓg, open to all children interested in learning hurling or Gaelic football and held on Sunday afternoons in the warmer months at Stade Michel Wagner, Weimerskirch.
Eating and drinking Irish style
There's no shortage of Irish watering holes in Luxembourg, often a good place for new arrivals to hear about employment and places to rent, as well as catch the rugby and Gaelic football matches or hear some live music.
The Irish Pub & Bistro at Eirelux
Grab a pint, watch a match, sing karaoke or listen to traditional music at Rue des Bruyères in Howald. The pub has an extensive menu of burgers, and dishes such as ribs or fish and chips, plus loaded fries.
Celebrating almost 30 years at 15 Val de Hamm, this Irish institution offers Guinness and whiskey in a traditional Irish country pub setting. In addition to screening sports, the pub holds regular live music sessions and in summer has a BBQ on the outside terrace.
There might be standing room only at this Clausen Irish pub, on Rue de la Tour Jacob, which has a late licence. Irish standards like Murphy's, Guinness, Caffreys, Kilkenny and cider are available on draught and punters can watch Irish and English sports live or play darts. It hosts live music and has quiz and karaoke nights, plus screenings of football and rugby matches.
Burgers, steaks and Sunday roasts are on the menu at Oscar's Bar in the Grund, named after the Irish writer Oscar Wilde. The green walls are adorned with portraits of Irish writers to create the atmosphere of a traditional Temple Bar drinking establishment. In addition, the bar hosts karaoke and screens sports matches live.
Head to Boulevard Royale in town or their sister one in Clausen for a pint of Guinness and the chance to catch a live football or rugby match and other sporting events.
Perhaps not an authentic Irish bar but you can get draught Guinness and bottles of Bulmer's cider at the Grund establishment. You can find these beers also at The White Rose Pub on Rue Dicks.
Irish language
Since its foundation in 2005, Cumann Gaelach Lucsamburg has organised many events and activities as part of its mission to popularise the use of Irish as a medium of communication and increase awareness of Irish language and culture in Luxembourg generally.
Children with Irish nationality enrolled in the Anglophone sections of the European Schools in Kirchberg and Mamer can opt to study Irish as an additional language.
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