St Patrick's Day and all things Irish
Dia daoibh. There are more than 1,900 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 weekend's celebrations, and where you can find all things Irish in the Grand Duchy.
St Patrick's Day celebrations
If you missed the Zeltik festival in Dudelange, don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate St Patrick's Day.
The Feast of St Patrick starts with a procession from Gëlle Fra at 10:45 on 14 March, and is followed by Mass at St Alphonse Church at 11.00 and a feast (Irish and Luxembourgish food).
You'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to live music. Eirelux in Howald has Celtic rock band The Bogs on 13 and 14 March, and an Irish Hooley Sunday lunch and dinner on 15 March with Irish dance performances. The spaceminers will play music from the 70s on 17 March.
The Black Stuff will have live music, with food provided by StrEATchef, and is the place to go if you're want to party all night as it's open until 3.00. Syrkus Cultural Centre in Roodt-sur-Syre will feature traditional Irish folk and ballad band The Kilkennys, supported by the vocal harmonies and foot-tapping jigs of Na Leanai, on 17 March at 19.30.
For Luxembourg's answer to The Pogues, Shëppe Siewen, the folk-punk band, will be celebrating their drummer Chris' birthday and St Pats at Café-bar vis-à-vis. Updown in Grund will have three days of fun and games starting on 15 March, with special drinks offers, plenty of whiskey and guiness and Irish stew from 11.00 together with live music from Carl Wyatt & The Delta Voodoo Kings on 17 March at 20.30.
The St Pat’s Day pub crawl takes in 5 bars in 5 hours on Saturday 13 March and costs 10 Euros which gets you 4 free shots and finger food at the first bar, ZapSchoul.
All things Irish in Luxembourg
The Irish embassy website for Luxembourg is not just the place to go for visa or passport enquiries. It supports 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 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.
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. They'll be hosting a fundraising table quiz at the Eirelux pub on 1 April.
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.
They also run Club na nÓg, open to all children interested in learning hurling or Gaelic football and held on Sundays at 15.00-16.00 from 26 April until 28 June at Stade Michel Wagner, Weimerskirch.
Luxembourg Rose
Each year Luxembourg sends a "Rose" to the Rose of Tralee competition in Ireland. You can meet the contestants at the Rose Ball on 28 March at the Parc Alvisse Dommeldange.
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. This pub offers a taste of the old country with an all day Irish breakfast, Irish sausages, fish and chips, and Guinness Irish beef stew.
Celebrating more than 27 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 also hosts a quiz night and has live music.
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 comedy nights.
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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