Irish fest spiced up by wild geese
Irish band, Wild Geese, play at Bubbles O’Leary’s in Kololo on Friday. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
Commemoration: St Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17, the death date of the most commonly-recognised patron saint of Ireland.
Christian holiday: St Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. The day commemorates St Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
Celebration: The day also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish people.
Celebrations involve public parades and festivals, plus wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday’s tradition of alcohol consumption.
St Patrick’s Day, is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17 every year in Ireland. However, this time, celebrations kicked off early. The Irish Society in Uganda, an umbrella body for the Irish citizens living across the country, kick started the weekend-long celebrations on Friday at Bubbles O’leary’s, Kololo.
This event evidently created space for the expats to come together to celebrate their heritage and culture. They, together with a few Ugandans shared friendship, experiences from all walks of life and also shared the Irish culture.
The drizzly cold evening was warmed and brought to life by the Wild Geese Band that was flown into the country on Tuesday.
Revellers looked comfy in their seats. Some had folded their hands, others pocketed while chatting the night away with a cold beer. But when the Wild Geese took to the stage, it was different. They seemingly related to the sophiscated music this band was playing.
Consequently abandoning their seats and dancing the night away with all sorts of strokes that would cross their minds.
This band was not here to play only their recordS. It was about entertaining the crowd and making sure everyone had fun. They keenly delivered all sorts of music genres ranging from blues, jazz blues to the traditional Irish culture music. The best moment of the night was when the band did a mash up of Lana Del Rey’s Summer Time. Everyone sang along with their hands up in the air.
Also, the best Irish food came with an entry ticket that cost Shs60,000 at the gate. The mouthwatering food was a cocktail of artisan Irish cheeses, pounded potatoes, beef and vegetables. The thirst was quenched by Guinness, a world renowned Irish brand that was first brewed in Dublin in 1759.
