Oh yes, it’s that time of year again, when I attempt to summarize the Sunday parade madness. Things kicked off with mass at St Anne’s Church, where Father Murphy asked parishoners to ‘Remember St Patrick gave us the mass…he never gave us Guinness.’
After mass things started gearing up for the Parade, and this for me was one of the best bits, watching the musicians and dancers wander the Digbeth streets with their instruments and outfits.
By far the best outfit for me was Brian Fitzpatrick’s dead ocelot Susan.
Brian, from the Northfield Caledonia Pipes and Drums, assured me that Susan died of old age in a zoo. Brian was interested to hear about the newer residents of Digbeth, as his father-in-law worked here in a factory on Cheapside shortly after he came over from Belfast in the 1960’s.
After chatting to Brian I wandered up to the parade starting point at Camp Hill to look at all the floats and vehicles assembled. The variety of vehicles was great. There were tractors.
There were bubble cars.
There were vintage double-decker buses.
But the most impressive of them all was Brian’s trike ‘Lady Diana’, a labour of love undertaken by Brian when the outer body of his Robin Reliant was written off 23 years ago.
The level of detail on this bike is astounding, it truly is a work of art.
Shortly after having a little chat with Brian the parade itself kicked off.
All walks of life made their way down the main Digbeth High Street (or High Street Deritend, as Carl Chinn prefers to call it).
Although the sun had come out especially for parade day it was very windy. I thought this poor man was going to blow away.
Parade day this year felt like much more of a family affair, although the atmosphere was lively I didn’t feel the lairy edge that’s sometimes been there in past years.
Maybe this was down to an increased police presence.
After the parade I took a little time out to chat to Councillor Martin Mullaney and Carl Chinn. As Gebby said on The Stirrer’s forum, ‘Carl “knows his stuff” there’s no doubt about that’. He is a mine of local information.
After my little history lesson from Carl I retreated to the Adam and Eve pub, where quite a few were enjoying a post-parade pint of Guinness.
I’ll be popping up a parade links post shortly, as there’s lots of YouTube films and photo sets out there already. In the meantime, a very happy St Patrick’s Day to you all for tomorrow!
Those of you who missed the special screening of the Philip Donnellan piece on BBC1’s Inside Out on 8th March, which featured interviews with Filum fans at the Spotted Dog who’d just watched his documentary film The Irishmen, you can watch it again in the YouTube film above – sorry the sound is a little out.
Fans of Irish film might like to go along to the Spotted Dog tomorrow evening for an Irish Film Night from 6pm onwards as part of St Patrick’s Festival Birmingham. Landlord John Tighe is screening Everlasting Piece, The Informer and Dancing at Lughnasa. I can’t make this one because I’ll be chatting about Patrick McCabe at the St Patrick’s Literary Festival at The Old Crown Inn from 7pm. Go along to hear all about the darkly comic McCabe, poetical W B Yeats, avant-guarde Samuel Beckett, and modernist James Joyce.
Fans of Irish culture might also like to see the Irish storyteller Katrice Horsley weave her magic at The Irish Centre, 7pm this Weds 17th March (St Patrick’s Day), again as part of St Patrick’s Festival Birmingham. Irish film fans in particular would do well to check out the Flatpack Festival in Birmingham later this month. Highlights include:
Synth Eastwood’s Fast Forward Show on Fri 26th March, when Dublin collective Synth Eastwood will host a night of live music, animation and interactivity at The Rainbow.
The Secret of Kells at The Electric Cinema on Sun 28th March, ‘a stunning animation about how the Book of Kells was completed and survived to become one of Ireland’s national treasures.’
This coming weekend sees the famous St Patrick’s Festival. The fun kicks off with a Festival Launch Party at The Irish Centre on Friday night, ‘a free evening of entertainment, dancing and a buffet’. To request tickets for the event email stpatricksbirmingham@gmail.com.
A Saturday of The Reel around The Bullring leads into the big Sunday parade, which starts with Mass at St Anne’s Church before the street parade and dancing around the St PatROCKs stage in South Birmingham College.
Post-weekend, the celebrations take a cultural turn with Irish film, literature and theatre events. NLP Theatre perform Singin` I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim on Monday 15th March in The Paragon Hotel. On Tuesday 16th March you have a choice between an Irish Film Night at The Spotted Dog or a St Patrick’s Literary Festival at The Old Crown Inn. On St Patrick’s Day, Weds 17th March, Irish Storyteller Katrice Horsley will be weaving her magic at The Irish Centre, as will musicians John McNicholl and John Kiernan. Rather amazingly, all of these events are free.
We Are Eastside
Friction Arts' The Edge - part of We Are Eastside
Once you’ve recovered from the St Patrick’s festivities you’ve a little time to pause for breath before the launch of We Are Eastside on 27th March, ‘an online and printed guide to the artists, collectives, promoters and spaces helping to transform Birmingham’s industrial heartland into a thriving creative playground’. The weekend will be jam-packed, with the Flatpack Festival being joined by local arts organisations showcasing their wares.
On Friday there’s a Curtain Show at Eastside Projects whilst The Lombard Method goes all Cinematic on us. I personally will be striving to catch Monuments at Ikon Eastside and mischievous audio-visual antics Synth Eastwood: Fast Forward at The Rainbow Warehouse.
Supersonic 2009 - Capsule are leading We Are Eastside and I get to post a picture of someone's bum
Saturday promises to be rather magical, with the new Rhubarb East gallery opening with The Uses of Enchantment, ‘inspired by fables and fairy stories, nostalgia and psychology’ and Laterna Magicka at Ikon Eastside, which later hosts the new concert film Burning, featuring Mogwai. VIVID will be providing the late-night space to let your hair down, with an Eastside Plasticine Party of ‘Psychedelic claymation’ by Bruce Bickford, which I think I’ll need to see to understand.
If you’re still standing on Sunday there’s plenty going on, with Paul Sharit’s 70’s Flicker films at Ikon Eastside and Belbury Youth Club’s evening of haunted audio and creepy telly at VIVID. I love a good scare…
So there we have it – we can finally see an end to the long, bitter winter and taste spring in the air, with lashings of Guinness and culture in equal measure. Swap your winter coat for a fetching emerald green number and enjoy!
Charlie Leydon, an Irish Heritage Group committee member and a great cog of the community, sadly passed away earlier this month. Irish Heritage Chair Mike Walsh has written a lovely tribute to a great man, who will be missed by many:
A Bold Spirit Departs
Charlie (in front) with friends and Committee members at Irish Heritage Dinner 16th December 2010.
Friends in the Irish Heritage Group were stunned and saddened to hear of the sudden death of Charlie Leydon, at the relatively young age of 52. He was a very reliable and hard working, member of the Heritage Group Committee. A man of robust personality, who to use a cliché, “was never backward in coming forward,” but always willing to back his words with hard work.
Charlie reciting The Lake Isle of Innisfree at Birmingham Irish Heritage October Event 2009.
The prize draw which is run at each months Heritage Group Event was “his baby”, its success due to Charlie’s gift for selling. He was a man of ideas; at our committee meetings a stream of ideas came from him, on how to build up the Group, and to improve its links with the Irish community. He had sound ideas on how to build a fellowship, between the committee and members, and to develop social interaction between all supporters.
In December 2009 we held the first ever Christmas Dinner, for members of the Group and friends, at the refurbished Irish Centre. It was judged a great success, and consequently will be followed by many others. This was entirely Charlie’s proposal, approved by the committee, and then organised with great gusto by Charlie. At the dinner we were all so pleased that we asked Charlie to speak, and he stood up and gave a fine warm hearted speech.
Charlie with friends after his talk and recital at the October 2009 Event if the Irish Heritage Group.
We were not to know that this would be the last time we would see him, as due to illness he was unable to attend further events, and died on Monday 8th of February 2010.Everybody will remember Charlie, and not just for a short period, because I feel sure the Heritage Group will create some lasting reminder of the man and his work. He was a strong supporter the Republic of Ireland Football Team, Sligo Gaelic Football, The Irish Rugby Team and Moseley Rugby Club.
Although living in a city, Charlie’s emotional core seemed deeply affected by many childhood summers spent in Ireland. His family connection is with Ballinafad, on the shores of the picturesque and Isle studded Lough Arrow in Co. Sligo. close to the Roscommon border. It is comforting to learn that he was able to travel to Ireland at Christmas, to see once again, his elderly Aunt.
Evocative representation of Departing inspired by the Yeats Poem,The Wild Swans at Coole.
During the October 2009 Event of the Heritage Group, Charlie stood up in front of the assembled gathering, to speak on his visits to Ireland, and meeting Irish Americans in Arizona of all places. He concluded by reciting the famous W B Yeats poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree which drew much applause. In view of what was to happen to him, and so very soon, the final verse of his recital seems to take on a very deep and personal meaning.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
He clearly had a great regard for the work of Yeats, County Sligo and all Ireland. When the Heritage Group has created a fitting and lasting tribute to Charlie Leydon, those who view it, may recall a famous quote by Yeats “Think where a mans glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends”.
Michael Walsh – Chairman, Birmingham Irish Heritage Group.
Here’s Chair Mike Walsh’s report about he last Irish Heritage meet-up. As Mike so rightly states, ‘The News Report is about far more than the presentation’. You can watch videos of the presentation in this previous DiG post, but for thoughtful overview and analysis, read on…
Irish Masculinity under Attack
Speaker Dr Deirdre O'Byrne being introduced to audience by Mike Walsh.
If Irish masculinity is under attack “Bring it on” thus spoke the eminent Professor Patricia Coughlin at a conference at University Collage Cork, before she swept out of the room. This so shocked Deirdre O’Byrne who was present at the conference, that she related to the crowd when she spoke at the February Event of the Birmingham Irish Heritage Group.
The Heritage Group stages a different Event on the first Wednesday of every Month, commencing at 7pm upstairs at the Irish Centre in Digbeth Birmingham. There is no charge and the general public are welcome to attend with free refreshments to end the evening. On this occasion Deirdre O’Byrne from Loughbourgh gave an interesting talk on the challenging subject of the portrayal of Fatherhood in Irish Fiction.
Nicky Getgood (first in line) filming the February presentation at Heritage Event.
Incidentally you can listen and watch her entire presentation in a video, which is available on Nicky Getgood’s interesting Digbeth Blog.
Click the triangle shown on the picture and the video will start. Before Deirdre starts her presentation, you will be able to hear a number of announcements of extra facilities to be provided by the Heritage Group. Chief amongst these is the immediate start of discussion groups, on the 3rd Wednesday of every Month, commencing at 7pm upstairs at the Irish Centre in Digbeth. These will be small intimate groups of 5 or 6 people, who will engage in conversation on a wide range of Irish interest topics. This activity will be in addition, to the normal first Wednesday of every month Heritage Event.
There was also an announcement of the soon to be started Special Irish Interest lending library, to be operated by the Heritage Group at the Irish Centre. There will be over 200 Irish interest books available to borrow, which compares very favourably with the Birmingham Central Library, which most times has only about 50 such books available to borrow.
Section of audience listening intently to talk about attack on Irish Masculinity.
The general thrust of the speaker Deirdre O’Byrne was to lament the concentration of Irish fiction writers, on portraying Irish Fathers as inadequate, drunken and sometimes violent men unable to show regard for their children. On the contrary, Deirdre explained that she had several brothers who were first rate “hands on fathers”, and that her father had an excellent close relationship with her.
There was she contended also a gap in non-fiction, when it came to a study of Irish fatherhood. Deirdre also drew attention to the Irish Constitution which defined a mother as working in the home, but without any reference to the father. A whole range of Irish fiction writers were covered in her talk amongst whom were Clare Keagan, Colin Tobin, John Banville and Patrick McCabe.
Response to her presentation from the audience was intense, with many giving examples of good fathers. One member voiced the thoughtful contribution that his father would have little time to interact with his children, because he would be too tired after a hard day in an unpleasant job. Another member drew attention to an occasion when he was walking through the Press Shop in a car factory, where men were handling entire car roofs, very hot heavy noisy work. In that situation the member was given to a philosophical thought as to the essence of their efforts. He came to the often overlooked conclusion, that unlikely as it appeared, they were in effect caring for their children.
Everyone knows that the Irish have an extremely enviable literary history. But what do most know of the details? Can you quote any Brendan Behan? Apart from having nothing to declare from his genius what else did Oscar Wilde have to say? Was Ulysses a sea-faring Sinbad type character?
This year the St Patrick’s Festival aims to provide an easy introduction to such matters by hosting it’s inaugural Literary Festival. Members of the community will be reciting some favourite Irish poems and prose and providing a little insight into a treasure trove that has remained in a darkened room for many of us.
This free event is due to take place at The Old Crown Inn on Tuesday March 16th at 7pm. If you’d like to get involved, why not come along to The Spotted Dog at 6pm next Tues 23rd Feb to chat event plans in the building with fellow literary souls?
