Conor McParland March 02, 2022 ST PATRICK’S DAY: Hugh Brown (Ambassador and Creative Performance Director with Beat Carnival), Amy Weir (Suffolk Circus) and musician Joshua Burnside with Harper McCleary (3) and Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl
BELFAST’Spopular St Patrick’s Day event will make a welcome return this year – but this time, with a reimagined 11-day citywide celebration from 10-20 March.
Belfast City Council awarded creative development funding to four organisations to deliver a new-look celebration that is fun and welcoming, and offers a creative line-up of family activity, including a live concert on March 16, a St Patrick’s Day carnival pageant, a trad music trail and a community showcase event.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl said: “After two years of not being able to host our usual St Patrick’s Day event, I am really thrilled that it is back this year, bigger and better than ever.
“It’s great to have the input of community organisations too to help make this a city-wide celebration that will appeal to a wide range of people, young and old, from all corners of our city, with plenty of free activities happening day and night across the 11 days.
“As a UNESCO City of Music, music will play a major role this year with a Féile Trad Trail running from March 10 and a St Patrick’s Eve concert at Custom House Square. The concert promises to be a real family-friendly affair this year featuring authentic homegrown talent.
“And, on St Patrick’s Day itself, I’m excited to be leading Beat Carnival’s pageant parade and am really looking forward to seeing the city come alive with colour and performances.”
A free family-friendly concert will take place on Wednesday, March 16 at Custom House Square, 5pm-9pm, delivered by The Duncairn Centre, supported by the Arts Council NI.
The concert will feature some of the Island’s brightest voices with music from beloved duo Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill, rising-star Tolü Makay and experimental folk artist Joshua Burnside. There will also be special performances from trailblazing flute and whistle player Brian Finnegan and The Duncairn Creative Collective, which brings together over 20 independent Irish musicians from different backgrounds and genres.
Barry O’Kane from The Duncairn Centre said: “We have been champions of independent Irish music since opening in 2014, so to give these artists a platform in Belfast’s city centre is a dream come true.
“We look forward to representing the authentic, modern and diverse society we live in, while providing an inclusive and family-friendly atmosphere where all shades of Irishness, and none, are welcome.”
This year’s new look St Patrick’s Day parade by Beat Carnival will be a colourful, carnival pageant of costume, music, dance, circus and theatrical performance.
David Boyd, Director of Beat Carnival, said: “We want to involve and inspire people of all backgrounds and abilities, to entertain and captivate audiences and to promote an inclusive and forward-looking experience of St Patrick’s Day in Belfast. The new parade will be a spectacle of creativity, fun and challenge proclaiming that ‘we are all Patrick’.”
Féile an Phobail will also be delivering a series of events as part of this year’s St Patrick’s Day programme of activity.
Kevin Gamble, Director at Féile an Phobail, said: “We’ll be bringing an array of music sessions, gigs, illuminations, workshops and more over 10 days across the city. Some of the highlights include a Féile Trad Trail – which will see popular bars, restaurants, hotels and visitor spots throughout the Gaeltacht Quarter and city centre come alive with traditional Irish music – plus St Patrick’s Day music at the Spar Craic 10k and inside 2 Royal Avenue.”
St George’s Market will also be getting in on the craic, with traditional music performances at the market each day from 18-20 March.
Tickets for the St Patrick’s Eve concert are free and will be available here from 10am on Thursday 3 March (limited to four per person). Terms and conditions apply.
On Tuesday, Mr Poots said in a tweet that the media should “desist from using sources to spread myths which have zero substance on behalf of people seeking to cause division within the DUP “.
Image caption,Doug Beattie and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson have given different accounts of their conversation
Sir Jeffrey and Mr Beattie have given differeing accounts of the meeting.
The UUP leader also rejected Sir Jeffrey’s claim that their meeting had focused on improving unionist co-operation.
Edwin Poots was the other big player at the time and now he too has had his say on the talks- if only to deny he was the source of the leak about the Beattie-Donaldson meeting.
Mr Poots says his name was mentioned a number of times but doesn’t say by whom.
But his intervention serves another purpose as it underlines how he, as leader at the time, was in the dark about the engagement.
He also attacks those seeking to cause division within the party, perhaps mindful of the potentially divisive forthcoming DUP executive meeting, which could decide his political future.
Take a minute out from celebrating to share a St. Patrick’s Day blessing with your loved ones.
IrishCentral Staff@IrishCentralMar 01, 2022Have a blessed St. Patrick’s Day! Take a minute out from celebrating to share a St. Patrick’s Day blessing with your loved ones. GETTY
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our IrishCentral readers! We hope that you have an incredible St. Patrick’s Day full of fun, friendship and lots and lots of Irish music, dance, literature, drama, food and so much more.
While we enjoy all the celebrations, we must remember, of course, that St. Patrick’s Day is a Catholic feast day and so in that spirit, we’ve compiled a collection of prayers and blessings specifically related to St. Patrick and to St. Patrick’s Day with which to bless your loved ones this year.
you sent Saint Patrick to preach your glory to the people of Ireland.
By the help of his prayers,
may all Christians proclaim your love to all men.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Thanks for St. Patrick
O God, Who didst vouchsafe to send Thy Confessor and Bishop, Blessed Patrick, to preach Thy glory to the nations, grant, through his merits and intercession, that what Thou dost command us to do, we may, by Thy mercy, be enabled to perform. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
St Patrick’s Breastplate
2
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
Christ be with me, Christ within me
Christ behind me, Christ before me
Christ beside me, Christ to win meADVERTISING
Christ to comfort me and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger
Christ in hearts of all that love me
Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.
(390-461 A.D.)
The Prayer of St. Patrick
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
President Biden “calls upon all Americans to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Irish Americans to our Nation” in his Irish-American Heritage Month Proclamation 2022.
IrishCentral Staff@IrishCentralMar 01, 2022March 17, 2021: US President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. GETTY IMAGES
Every March since 1991 has been designated as Irish American Heritage Month in the US.
US President Joe Biden has issued a proclamation designating March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month in the US.
In his proclamation, Biden makes special note of his own Irish roots which can be traced back to the Blewitts of Co Mayo and the Finnegans of Co Louth.
Traditionally on St. Patrick’s Day, the US President meets with the Taoiseach in Washington, DC. Last year, the meeting was held virtually due to public health concerns, but Taoiseach Micheál Martin will be traveling to Washington, DC this year for St. Patrick’s Day.
President Biden’s Proclamation on Irish-American Heritage Month, 2022
For centuries, Irish Americans have played a crucial role in helping define the soul of our Nation, and today, nearly 1 in 10 Americans proudly trace their roots back to the Emerald Isle. With hope and faith in their hearts, the first immigrants from Ireland crossed the Atlantic in search of liberty and opportunity. It was the dream of a better life that brought my ancestors — the Blewitts of County Mayo and the Finnegans of County Louth — and countless other Irish immigrants.
Like so many Irish American families, my grandparents carried the spirit and memory of Ireland in their hearts — a pride and passion they instilled in their home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Through the journeys of their own mothers and fathers and in the lessons they passed on to my mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, they joined Irish Americans in every corner of America in helping to write the next chapter of the American story.ADVERTISING
The story of Irish Americans has always been one of strength and perseverance through adversity. Many Irish immigrants arrived on America’s shores to escape the Great Famine, only to face discrimination, prejudice, and poverty. Despite these hard times, they embraced their new homes in every corner of America — from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across the Midwest and through the Rocky Mountains — and helped build and fortify our Nation into what it is today.
Irish Americans expanded the American middle class, building ladders of opportunity that future generations could climb. They became teachers, firefighters, police officers, labor leaders, farmers, business owners, and more. Along the way, Irish Americans contributed enormously to the American labor movement — championing safe working conditions, advocating for children’s rights, and fighting racism, prejudice, and income inequality. They bravely answered the call to serve, defending our Union and its values in every battle. They continue to work on behalf of the American people as public servants — serving in the Congress, the Supreme Court, Federal agencies, the White House, and in State and local offices across the country. Irish Americans have enriched our culture and nourished our hearts and souls through the arts and humanities, earning recognition as Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning poets and authors, award-winning musicians, storytellers, and dancers, and critically acclaimed actors. They have blessed our Nation with their indomitable spirit, faith, and love for family that has been passed down through the generations. This sense of community, hospitality, resilience, and passion are integral pieces of America’s cultural tapestry.
The United States and Ireland are deeply and forever intertwined: linked in memory and imagination — in joy, sorrow, and resilience — by our common love and common dreams. We share, in every heart, an unrelenting optimism — a flicker of hope that guides us through even the darkest of nights.
As we celebrate Irish-American Heritage Month, let us honor the journey and contributions of Irish Americans who helped shape this land of opportunity and define what it means to be American. Let us reaffirm the legacy of friendship and strong family ties between the United States of America and Ireland — united by our common purpose, by our histories, and by our futures.ADVERTISING
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2022 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Irish Americans to our Nation with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
A burning power station in eastern Ukraine.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
A global retreat
Democracy has been on the decline worldwide for more than 15 years. One major reason is the growing ruthlessness of authoritarian leaders, particularly Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today, I will walk through how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fits into the broader geopolitical trends of the past decade and a half.
Putin has spent more than two decades consolidating power, rebuilding Russia’s military and weakening his enemies. He has repeatedly undermined democratic movements and popular uprisings, including those in Syria and Belarus. He has meddled in Western elections. And he has deployed Russian troops to enforce his will, including in Georgia and Crimea.
The invasion of Ukraine — the largest war in Europe since World War II — is a significant escalation of this behavior. The country’s fall would mark a violent end to one of the world’s democracies.
Maneuvers like Putin’s, as well as insufficient pushback from other governments, have fostered this global democratic decline, experts say. Just one in five people now live in countries designated as “free,” down from nearly one in two in 2005, a new report from Freedom House found.
The invasion of Ukraine is “a taste of what a world without checks on antidemocratic behavior would look like,” Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, told me. He remains hopeful that democracies will rally to impose serious penalties on Russia, signaling that they will not tolerate Putin’s behavior. But, he warned, “if they don’t, this is going to set the world back in a major way — not just for democracy, but for the rule of law.”
Vladimir Putin.Pool photo by Mikhail Metzel
A war on democracies
The collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago gave birth to democracies across Eastern Europe — and to Putin’s grievances. He once described the Soviet breakup as “the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” — a time period that included two world wars and the Holocaust. He has suggested he wants to reverse that collapse.
Putin’s complaints are less ideological — he is not a communist, and has not ruled like one — and more self-interested: He wants to protect his hold on power as well as further Russia’s global reach, which would increase support for him at home.
But the effect of his rule has been to undermine democracy globally. After Georgia moved to join NATO, with the support of voters, Russia invaded in 2008 and has meddled in the country’s politics ever since. Russia has worked with autocratic leaders to help crush democracies and protests where Putin believes that his country has security or economic interests, including in Kazakhstan and Venezuela.
He has also tried to destabilize democracies in the West — by interfering in elections in the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, among other nations.
In Ukraine, Russia’s meddling in the 2004 presidential contest helped spawn protests against corruption and for fair elections, a movement known as the Orange Revolution. In another round of protests a decade later, Ukrainians overthrew a pro-Russian government and replaced it with one closer to Europe and the West.
Russia responded by invading and annexing Crimea, in southern Ukraine, and by backing separatists in the east, who have fought a grinding war against the Ukrainian government ever since. Now, Putin is trying to seize control of all of Ukraine.
Dozens were killed during 2014 protests in Ukraine.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
Unchecked autocrats
Democracy has also declined globally because democratic leaders have done too little to stand up for themselves, the Freedom House report argued.
As is now clear, the world’s response to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula was not enough to deter Putin from going further. Even the sanctions imposed on Russia after its full assault on Ukraine this week stopped short of maximum punishment, sparing much of the Russian energy sector that Europe’s economy still relies on.
At the same time, autocratic governments have increasingly worked together, using their collective economic and political power to create a cushion against punishments from other governments. China approved Russian wheat imports this past week, effectively softening the impact of the West’s new sanctions.
Authoritarians have also abandoned pretenses of democratic norms. Putin, as well as rulers in Nicaragua, Venezuela and elsewhere, once tried to at least maintain the appearance of free and fair elections. But now they regularly jail political opponents, denying the opposition the ability to campaign.
All of these moves have shown other leaders with authoritarian aspirations what they can do as the liberal democratic order loses its sway.
In that context, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of a broader test: whether the global erosion of democracy will continue unchecked.
ST PATRICK’S DAY: Hugh Brown (Ambassador and Creative Performance Director with Beat Carnival), Amy Weir (Suffolk Circus) and musician Joshua Burnside with Harper McCleary (3) and Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Kate Nicholl
Have a blessed St. Patrick’s Day! Take a minute out from celebrating to share a St. Patrick’s Day blessing with your loved ones. GETTY
2
March 17, 2021: US President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. GETTY IMAGES
A burning power station in eastern Ukraine.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
Vladimir Putin.Pool photo by Mikhail Metzel
Dozens were killed during 2014 protests in Ukraine.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times