Glasgow Schools celebrate St Patrick’s Day 2010

Glasgow City Halls

Monday 15 March 2010

Glasgow Education Department and the Glasgow Irish Community Glasgow City Council recognises the Irish

Community as the largest and most established Ethnic group in the city.

Since 2009 The Education Department and the Garngad Irish Heritage Group of the Irish Diaspora in Scotland Association have worked together to produce a free concert of Irish culture for Glasgow School children.

Glasgow Schools St Patrick’s Day Concert 2010

The demand for places was so high last year that the concert had to be moved to the larger City Halls in Candleriggs.

Over 1000 children from 23 city schools attended.

Celebrating St Patrick with the Glasgow Irish Community The City School children

also had a chance to enter an Art Competition.

They had to produce a piece of work inspired by the Irish writer Patrick McGills’ poem ‘On Broomielaw Quay’

The competition was judged by Frank Boyle, Scotland's leading Political Cartoonist.

Frank is third from the left.

On Broomielaw Quay by Patrick Mc Gill

The Donegal navvy PoetNovember’s wind tonight is rawAnd whips the Clyde to foam;I watch here on the BroomielawThe harvesters go home.

Oh, luck is theirs, and blest are they Who cross the sea of Moyle;To see again at dawning grey The waters of the Foyle.

To-morrow night on starlit ways They’ll go to a loved door,And sit with kin by hearths ablazeIn Rosses or Gweedore.

No welcome warm, no lighted pane,Now waits me in the West;And sorrow keener than the rainLies heavy on my breast.

Yet longing often draws me where The boats for Ireland start;They take an unseen passenger-My homeless Irish heart.

Like wild geese in their homing flight These toilers homeward draw,And leave me lonely in the nightUpon the Broomielaw.

Patrick Mc Gill was born in Donegal in 1890. He was ‘hired out’ at a fair as a seasonal worker at the age of 12. By the time he was 15 he joined a group of seasonal migratory workers on their way to Scotland to help with the potato harvest and raise money for his family in Ireland.

He spent the next few years traveling about Scotland working in all types of places. Amazingly, when one considers his little formal education he became a journalist at the age of 21working for a London Newspaper.He is now known as the ‘navvy poet’ and author of several books on his experiences as a Navvy in Scotland.

The winner of the Schools Art Competition was Alice Deasy from St Convals School Glasgow

Her art work evoked the loneliness of the poem and her intricate heart was very detailed.

2nd Place went to a pupil from Barmulloch Primary.

Joint 3rd place was awarded to a pupil from Barmulloch Primary

Joint 3rd was awarded to a pupil from Sacred Heart Primary Bridgeton

Glasgow Schools St Patrick’s Concert 2010 Children arrived

dressed to have a great time.

Teachers had worked with classes to have an Irish theme

St.James Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann 18 young musicians from Pollok, all under 12 years of age played a seamless selection of Irish Traditional music.

If we lose our culture and heritage we lose our identity.

Caroline Greenes Irish DancersA 16 hand interpretation of Yeats poem ‘The Wild swans at Coole

The children loved it!!

Glasgow Irish Group Anarkali set the crowd dancing in the aisles.

Anarkali

The Friel Sisters

Clare, Anna and Shiela have played support to top Traditional groups including Altan and the Chieftains. They recently played at the Donegal person of the year award in Dublin where they played with Daniel O’Donnell.

Flute trick – Anna and Shiela have a hand on each others flute and manage to play a tune.

The Dancers revenge - Not Stavros Flately First there was Flately and Riverdance, then there was Stavros FlatelyNow we have NOT STAVROS FLATELY. Hilarious

The Children loved the concert

Helping to break down prejudices.

Each child was presented with an Irish Flag and a ‘goody’ bag of Irish items.

Celebrating Diversity The Irish are Glasgow's Largest Ethnic Minority More schools now

feel confident enough to celebrate St.Patrick’s Day.

Irish flags are a legitimate expression of Irish identity.

The Irish –Scotland’s Largest and most established Ethnic Minority Group.

For more information on the Irish community in Scotland visit www.irishinscotland.com

For more information on the work of the Garngad Irish Heritage Group visit www.gihg.org

To view the evening concert visit- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id7cfLQJkSo