Launch follow up: Adam Oronowicz kindly recorded some of the Festival launch, which can be viewed below.

Original listing

With opening speeches, music and a live preview of our newly adopted Festival theme song, our launch brings Festival friends together.

The Centre, our natural home, provides a convivial space in which to toast ‘Sláinte’ (health) to all those who join us, have helped us and will be with us for Festivals ahead. Book ahead to ensure you have the best seats!

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Attendance at the launch does not give you automatic attendance to The Old Time Sailors. You will need to book tickets seperately for this event.

We are proud to state this event is linked with Black History Month and the Cuture Liverpool programme.

Commuity invitation

Here at the Liverpool Irish Festival, we are very aware that representation has become a major part of our everyday work. We have had to find a voice to support our Irish communities against ignorance arising through Brexit; against general and systemic misunderstandings caused by assumptions about who the Irish in Britain are and the need to challenge the widely asserted by incorrect view that Irishness is white.

We know these things are wrong and that, often times, they echo what is happening to and in other communities.

We want to make our Festival open to Liverpool’s often overlooked communities and remind everyone that the Liverpool Irish Festival is for those with an Irish background -of any heritage- as well as those with no connection to Ireland at all! Arts and culture are for sharing; internally between those whom identify the culture as theirs and externally, so others can see why and how unique customs, creative exchanges and histories draw communities closer, drive them apart and/or help people with their identify.

This year’s Festival theme is exchange. Every event contains an exchange within it and we hope we can create exchanges with you. We welcome you -and the community you support- to our events and hope that you will share our specific invite to you widely. Parts of our programme this year involve individuals of Chinese Irish, Irish Caribbean and other Irish dual-heritages in a bid to start showing that Ireland’s people -it’s diaspora and communities abroad are a myriad of people, dreams and ambitions. We hope you will join us to celebrate some exceptional stories, art and history.

You can find everything you need to know about our events programme -and our Liverpool Irish Famine Trail project- at liverpoolirishfestival.com and you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on @LivIrishFest. before signing off, I would encourage anyone that wanted to connect with our programme and the notifications coming out ahead of the Festival to sign up for our enewsletter – you can do that here: https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/sign-up/ This allows us to speak directly with you about the programme and community news updates.