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PHOTOS – Robert Burns Night 2018 at Bobby Byrnes Bar

Robert Burns Night 2018 with organisers Noel Flannery and Michael Potter with Mayor Sean Lynch, John Loftus and Gordon Lessels. Picture: Ciara Maria Hayes/ilovelimerick

Robert Burns Night 2018 at Bobby Byrnes Bar

By ilovelimerick correspondent Zoe Conway

Robert Burns Night 2018 at Bobby Byrnes Bar was a “night of tipsy dance and jollity” last night, and we nearly can’t wait for the next one!


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On Thursday, January 25, Bobby Byrnes Bar played host to a typically Scottish meal to mark the night celebrating Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.

This was the 14th year that the event took place. Organised by the founders of the event, Michael Potter and Noel Flannery. This year’s celebration featured Mr. Potter in the role of compere as he rolled out a number of Robbie Burns’s classic poems.

Haggis and sandwiches, neeps and tatties, alongside the accordion and the guitar, and many more Scottish traditions were featured on the night.

To open the night, the founders gave us a lovely welcoming speech, followed by the Mayor, who gave us a brief history lesson on the great man that was Robert Burns. After this, the live performances began. There were traditional songs played as well as some of Robert’s amazing poetry read for us.

Anyone who wishes to contribute and perform a piece of literature is more than welcome to do so, and a few even did take to the stand after not only the founders gave their welcoming speeches, but the Mayor welcomed us all also.

Capt Michael Egan was present on the night, playing his bagpipes, Mary O’Donoghue was fantastic on the violin. Gordon Lessels, a Scotsman now living in Limerick twenty-two years, performed Robert Burns’s signature poem the Tam O Shanter.

Even Eleanor Purcell from Limerick’s oldest tobacconists was there, supplying free samples of snuff for the night, a favourite of Burns.

Burns Night celebrations have been held since 1801, five years after the death of the ‘Scottish Bard’. Burns Night continues to be celebrated across the globe and is a date not to be missed in Limerick or especially Bobby Byrnes pub.

The celebrations initially took place on January 29, this date was revised to January 25 after it was discovered this was in fact, the date of Burns’ birth.

The event will take place again next year, for its 15th year running, and if it’s anywhere near as good as this years, it will be a must-see event!

 

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Pictures: Ciara Maria Hayes/ilovelimerick

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.