Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
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Lidovky.cz

Celtic roots are showing for St. Patrick’s Day

  14:35

Ireland’s holiday will be turning Prague’s city center green with a music festvial that includes a daylong concert on Wenceslas Square

Czech actor Martin Dejdar (left) is the patron of this year’s Irish Music Festival foto: © Irish Music FestivalČeská pozice

Prague may seem an unusual locale for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but the city has Celtic roots that stretch back more than 2,600 years. The name Bohemia even comes from the Boii, a Celtic tribe that lived in the area when ancient Romans first wrote about it.

But nobody really needs an excuse to be Irish in the middle of March. The Irish Music Festival organized around the Emerald Isle’s patron saint runs from March 15 to 18. Everyone in Prague probably knows that St. Patrick’s Day is a popular Irish holiday that has found its supporters around the world, including the Czech Republic. … The celebration in the Czech Republic has been organized for 15 years, and every year it has an increasing number of Czech fans,” festival organizer Frank Houghton said at a press conference.

Every year the festival has a patron. This time it is actor Martin Dejdar. While technically he isn’t Irish, he is willing to compensate. “I went and bought everything green I could find … green jeans, a t-shirt and coat,” he said. A number of celebrities have been associated with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Prague. Actor Dennis Hopper displayed the death mask of writer James Joyce at the original location of the James Joyce Pub in 1995, a few years before the first official festival in 1998.

The festival is mostly a laid back affair, with most of the events taking place, fittingly enough, in Caffrey’s Irish Bar and James Joyce Prague’s Cosy Irish Pub. Bands will also play in Staroměstská restaurace and restaurace U Supa, all in a small area around Old Town Square. St. Patrick’s Day itself falls on a Saturday this year, which makes it convenient for a big celebration. A stage on Wenceslas Square will host bands on March 17 starting at 2:30 p.m.

Another anniversary

A highlight of the festival is too big to be held in one of the four eateries Dublin band Aslan has a concert at Palác Akropolis on March 16, with Dave Morrissey & the Studio 65 Band as an opening act. Aslan is on tour celebrating its 30th anniversary. The band will also perform a short set the next day on the Wenceslas Square stage at 7:30 p.m.

Prague is one of the most impressive cities that we have been invited to in recent years. All the band members cannot wait to visit in March. Prague Rocks!” Aslan’s lead singer Christy Dignam said in a statement. Aslan — which takes its name from the lion in the C.S. Lewis books about Narnia — has seen three of its five studio albums reach number one on the Irish music charts. 2001’s “Waiting For This Madness To End...” was the band’s biggest success, reaching platinum.

The opening act has a long history with the festival.Dave Morrissey has appeared as far back as 2005. He returns with his new six-piece band, the Studio 65, which has been touring Ireland and the UK with its debut album, “Bring Out the Light” and two singles: “Butterfly” and “Red Moon.” The idea behind the band is to provide the Morrissey’s music with a fuller sound so it can be heard in bigger venues.

Limerick favorites

Another returning act is the duo Celtic Whisper, which performs popular ballads accompanied by some fiddle playing and guitar. The duo is composed of two musicians who, like Madonna or Cher, go by just their first names: Tommy and John. The band formed in 1999 and has been a regular in the pub circuit around Ireland’s Limerick county.

Tommy has high praise for Czech audiences. “They come to hear the music and actually listen and return year after year. I have met some great friends,” he told Czech Position. A group of retired printers is one such set of diehard fans. “There are many others who come and dance and have a good time with us. … “We love coming to Prague. We have been here now for 12 years.”

To mark 15 years, though, the festival is bringing something new. Munster Rugby Supporters Club Choir will jam into James Joyce for two shows and also have a less claustrophobic appearance on the Wenceslas Square stage. The choir  is more used to singing in a stadium setting during matches.

Taking up the torch

Not all of the bands are traveling from abroad. There has been an Irish music scene in Prague for several years, with Czech musicians taking up that country’s sonic motifs. Rí Ra is made up of six people who wanted to bring Irish music back to the heart of Europe. The band has recorded two CDs, “First Of” in 2008 and “Fairy” in 2009.

Each member has his or her own reason for embracing Celtic music, ranging from study is school to family tradition. Lead vocalist Klára Lašťovičková, for example, has parents who were founders of another Irish music band, Asonance, which has performed since the 1970s. Band leader and flutist Daniela Vránová studied Irish literature.

The band tries to mix the Irish sound with other influneces. “We always present it as Irish tunes, lightly spiced with a mixture of funk riffs, jazz fills, combined with our arrangements,” bassist David Ryšánek told Czech Position. “We try to make it a bit livelier for ordinary listeners who are not used to the very traditional Irish music, and we don’t strictly stick to the standard harmonic progressions.”

Rí Ra has also played outside the Czech Republic and saw its biggest audience at the 2010 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Festival of Music in Ireland) in Cavan, Ireland; the world’s largest traditional Irish music festival.

Irish Music Festival (March 15–18)
Events at:
James Joyce Cosy Irish Pub, U Obecního dvora 4, Prague 1
Caffrey’s Irish Bar, Old Town Square 10, Prague 1
Staroměstská restaurace. Old Town Square 19, Prague 1
Restaurace U Supa, Celetná 22, Prague 1
Additional concerts:
Aslan and Dave Morrissey: Palác Akropolis, March 16 at 7:30
Music stage at Wenceslas Square on March 17 from 2:30 p.m.
www.irishmusicfestival.cz

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