This year’s Festival will run over ten days and two weekends rather than three as in previous years. With pretty much the same number of events the Festival will be ‘busier’ with, particularly on weekends, a choice of more events for festival goers to attend. As always music will be at the heart of the Festival with the third year of the splendid Irish Sea Sessions at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (Oct. 19th, see www.liverpoolphil.com for more details and booking) as one of the centrepieces of the festivities; there will also be music at The Capstone, Rodewald Suite, Sefton Park Palm House and Eric’s. Literature lovers are particularly well catered for this year with a whole day devoted to James Joyce – his stories, humour and songs – and a lecture marking the centenary of the death of Bram Stoker, Dublin-born author of Dracula. The first weekend will see the Festival down at Albert Dock and, for the first time, L1. Whilst the Museum of Liverpool will be hosting a Liverpool Irish Celebration Day on the first Saturday, with St Michael’s Irish Centre holding its popular Ceili that evening. The last Sunday will feature a family day at Sefton Park Palm House with a Children’s Concert and Ceili, whilst there will be a film programme of Irish Shorts and Features running throughout the Festival at FACT.

New events are being added almost daily so keep an eye on the website for further details of the programme as they come, ticketing information will also be posted as it becomes available – and don’t forget, you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

10 weekly meetings from Wednesday 25 January, 7-9pm
by Gregory Quiery, University of Liverpool
Dept. of Continuing Education, Mount Pleasant
Enrolment closing date Tuesday 15 January. £74/£44

This course enables students to examine the story of the Liverpool Irish, why they came, the challenges they faced, their achievements and their legacy. Students will see how the Liverpool Irish experience is crucial to the fascinating history of the city.

Click here for more info.

Here’s a great review from Songlines magazine, of the CD of the 2010 Irish Sea Sessions. You can purchase the CD by clicking here!

All good things must come to an end, and this year’s Liverpool Irish Festival has been better than good.

If you’ve got the stamina this is your schedule for the 3 days:

Friday we have Pavee Lackeen at FACT, the last of our astonishingly successful film series, with Liverpool Accoustic Live! in the evening as well as the first of the weekends two music sessions, this one at St Michael’s Irish Centre.

An early rise for our traditional (and always popular) Saturday morning lecture, this year it is on writer Sean O’Faolain; the 3rd Scotland Road walk follows in the afternoon, whilst early evening is a return to literature with a marvellous version of Flan O’Brien’s ‘The Brother’, grab some food and then it’s on to the music session at Kavanagh’s.

Super Sunday is based at the Palm House – after a lie in, wander down to Sefton Park, 2.30pm Children’s Concert, 4pm Family Ceili, 6pm Lantern Parade – yes, they are putting on a spectacular lantern parade to celebrate the end of LIF 2011! (Halloween, actually), and then 8pm a concert with the mighty KAN, virtuoso Irish music. – oh, if you fancy a variation on the above there are still a few seats left on the Heritage Coach Tour leaving St Michaels at 2pm

That’s it for another year, LIF will return for the 10th time in 2012; watch this space!