Three day festival celebrating Irish music and culture being held this weekend

On Saturday and Sunday Páirc Festival will transform the outdoor grounds of the former Stadium Club, the New Irish Centre in Kings Heath, and Ocean Colour Scene is kicking the event off on Friday night.

On Saturday Imelda May is performing with fellow Irish legends Hothouse Flowers, Beoga, who co-wrote Ed Sheeran’s hit Galway Girl, Damien Dempsey and Hermitage Green taking to the stage, with Birmingham based The Father Teds and Lampa complete the bill.

Sunday see Finbar Furey and Nathan Carter headlining, joined by Irish icons The Sharon Shannon Trio, The Dublin Legends and The Kilkennys, alongside homegrown talent and Birmingham Irish bands On The Sesh and Bang On The Ear.

The Birmingham Irish Music and Culture Stage will showcase traditional music and arts on the Saturday seeing performances from the Kidd School of Irish Dance in the afternoon. Local band LAMPA will take to the stage in the evening, followed by a trad session with the Twang’s Ash Sheehan and Rigmarole!

On Sunday, Scanlon School of Irish Dance will showcase their performers in the afternoon followed by bands Cairdre, On The Sesh and Sereno will continue the entertainment until early evening.

The Birmingham Irish Association is the official charity for this year’s festival.

Professor Carl Chinn MBE will be delivering his popular talk Birmingham and Was There a Peaky Blinder Connection on both days.

Visitors will also enjoy Páirc’s street food village and market stalls celebrating local makers and traditional Irish produce. Expect outdoor bars and beer tents, plus food from BA-HA Vegan, Tap and Tandoor, Nicki Fabulous, plus cuisine from all around the world courtesy of FeastStreet.

Judith Cassidy, from Tourism Ireland which are backing the festival, said: "Tourism Ireland is delighted to support Páirc Festival, the event will showcase the Island of Ireland’s vibrant music and culture offering to audiences in Birmingham, highlighting Ireland’s rich cultural heritage as one of the many reasons prospective GB visitors should consider the destination for their next short break or holiday."

Ciaran Healy, co-owner of the Old Crown in Digbeth and part of the Páirc Festival organising team said: "Páirc Festival is all about celebrating the long standing traditions of the Irish community based in the UK.

"We want to create a party which is centred around Irish music, dance, food and culture, but we also want to work with our community to ensure we can support the amazing work undertaken by organisations such as Tourism Ireland."

Ian Rogers, Solihull Summer Fest organiser and part of the Páirc Festival organising team also said: ‘We hope Páirc Festival will offer people a great opportunity to come together and celebrate in the best way possible, and we look forward to bringing a real mix of the best from Birmingham and Ireland.”

For tickets and more information about the festival visit www.paircfestival.com or social media @paircfestival on Instagram and Facebook.