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Virtual St Patricks Fling hosted by Irish World Academy for Paddy’s Day 

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Virtual St Patricks Fling – Students from the Irish World Academy MA Irish Dance pictured above 

Virtual St Patricks Fling hosted by Irish World Academy for Paddy’s Day 

The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, presents a special virtual experience of music, song and dance, performed at University Concert Hall, for St Patrick’s Day. 


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This unique concert will see performers from all over the world coming together, including very special guest, Grammy-award winner Rhiannon Giddens. Giddens, an extraordinary American musician, who is a doyenne of the international folk scene won ‘Best Traditional Folk Album’ as part of the ground-breaking ensemble, Carolina Chocolate Drops, at the 2011 Grammys. She continues to have huge success in her more recent solo endeavours winning ‘Best Album of the Year’ at the International Folk Music Festival in 2016 and 2018, while also winning BBC 2 Folk Singer of the Year in 2016. 

The Virtual St. Patrick’s Day Fling will also feature the spectacular Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre who will premiere an innovative triple aerial hoop system with their new ‘Handful of Dreams’. Internationally renowned aerialists Aisling Ní Cheallaigh, Jenny Tufts, and Dr Jennifer de Brún will perform, together with talented students from the Academy’s BA in Irish Music, BA in World Music, BA in Irish Dance, BA in Contemporary Dance, MA in Classical String Performance and MA Irish Traditional Dance Performance. 

Celebrating all the creativity, talent and passion that the Irish World Academy has to offer, these world-renowned musicians, singers and dancers come together on the University Concert Hall stage, to create a performance full of joy, passion and festivity to celebrate a St. Patrick’s Day like no other! 

This special event is a partnership between UL Global, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University Concert Hall and Limerick Culture and Arts Office, Limerick City and County Council. 

Virtual St Patricks Fling

Rhiannon Giddens

The St Patrick’s Day Virtual Fling will also be launched in multiple time zones on March 17th as part of a UL Global initiative to connect with potential students, alumni and the wider diaspora in order to showcase all that the University of Limerick has to offer international students. Dr Sandra Joyce, Director, Irish World Academy, “In these extraordinary and unprecedented times, the arts have possibly never been as important. The Irish World Academy is delighted to showcase the talent of its students and staff at this unique and important online event as part of the global St Patrick’s Day celebrations. We are extremely grateful to our partners, UL Global, University Concert Hall and Limerick City and County Council, for their support and guidance. We are also delighted that special guests Rhiannon Giddens and Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Company will be performing at what promises to be a sparkling event!” 

Josephine Page, UL Global Director said, “UL Global is delighted to collaborate with the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (IWAMD) to bring you a flavour of Ireland’s rich musical heritage during our national day celebrations. The academy welcomes students from all over the globe to undergraduate and graduate programmes in Music, Dance and Voice. I hope that this special performance brings the warm Irish spirit to you wherever you are in the world, and on behalf of the UL Global team, I wish you a happy St Patrick’s Day.” 

 

Sinead Hope, Director, University Concert Hall said, “It gives us huge pleasure to host this exciting St. Patrick’s Day concert, and to have music once again ringing out from the stage of University Concert Hall! While we look forward to welcoming audiences through our doors down the line, we are delighted to be able to offer this virtual concert experience in the meantime and hope that everyone, of all ages and across all continents, enjoys it on March 17th”. Sinead Hope, Director, University Concert Hall. 

The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance is the centre of academic and performance excellence housed at the University of Limerick, Ireland. It offers a suite of taught undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in music and dance-related subject areas. Its research is at the forefront of these fields of enquiry worldwide. With a 5000 square meter, €21 million performing arts building hosting some 300 students at any one time from c.25 different countries, the Academy is a vibrant centre of arts practice and academic study. To date graduates of the Irish World Academy have come from over 50 different countries.  

This free concert will be available to view from 3 pm on March 17, 2021, and can be accessed HERE 

 For more info on the Irish World Academy go HERE 

For more stories on the Irish World Academy go HERE 

For more St Patricks Day stories go HERE 

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.