Liverpool Irish Festival

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Liverpool Irish Festival

The Liverpool Irish Festival: Bringing Liverpool and Ireland closer together using arts and culture.

Liverpool Irish Festival, October annually

10 days of arts and cultural activities celebrating Liverpool's links with Ireland. Expect music and song, food and film, talks, tours and theatre, design, dance and drinks, art and animation, ceílís and comedy, seisiuns, print and poetry, literature and heritage, sport and quality fun for all the family. Set up in 2003 the Liverpool Irish Festival celeb

rates the links between Liverpool and Ireland and highlights the significance of Irish heritage and culture in defining Liverpool and its status as a great European city.

17/06/2026

👟 This weekend - Liverpool Irish Famine Trail Introductory Tours!

There's just two more chances to join John Maguire ArtsGroupie CIC on one of our guided Liverpool Irish Famine Trail tours, and as the weather gets nicer, what better time to join us?

Visit some of the most important places in Liverpool Irish history, and get started on your own learning journey 📖

📍11am - 1pm, Sun 21 Jun and Sun 19 July

Meet at The Pilotage Building, near Museum of Liverpool

🎫Tickets £10, plus booking fee

Get your tickets on our website now ⬇

https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/events/liverpool-irish-famine-trail-introductory-tours/

16/06/2026

📖 Bloomsday 2026

Today, literary fans in Ireland and the world over celebrate author James Joyce and all the wonders of his writings!

All over the world, people will celebrate today with readings, and in Dublin an annual Bloomsday festival is taking place 🏦

What Irish literature has had the biggest impact on you?

"To learn one must be humble. But life is the great teacher"

12/06/2026

👟 Spotlight on the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail... Pleasant Street School

Since 1818 (though the exact site has changed), Pleasant Street School has educated many children of Liverpool, spanning many periods of vital history and multiple denominations of children entering its doors 🏫

One of those histories the school lived through was An Gorta Mór, throughout which it is likely to have looked after many Irish children arriving in Liverpool. In fact, our history research group found that a group of 15,000 marched for St Patrick's Day in 1821, taking with them the children of the Pleasant Street School💚

Even before the tragic years of An Gorta Mór, Liverpool had a strong Irish community, setting it up for the unshakeable bonds that were to come 🤝

Find out more about our dedicated research and the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail on our website now ⬇

https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/pleasant-street-school/

09/06/2026

🌿 June is Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

This year's theme is Onwards with Hope - celebrating the aspirations and futures of Romany Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller and other nomadic communities, and asking what we can all do to build a more inclusive society.

As an Irish festival, the rich traditions of Irish Travellers - their music, storytelling, and community bonds - are something we hold close.

This month, we're proud to stand alongside these communities in celebrating their cultures and challenging prejudice.

📸 Jona Frank

04/06/2026

👩‍🦯 Liverpool Irish Famine Trail tours

A couple of weeks ago, we went along on one of our Liverpool Irish Famine Trail tours, expertly led by John Maguire of ArtsGroupie CIC.

We visited key sites of the trail, from soup kitchens to memorials, on a calmly paced journey through Liverpool city centre examining the longevous history of Liverpool's Irish diaspora.

There are still two of these tours left, so you haven't missed out if you've been meaning to join!

📍Join John on Sunday 21 June and Sunday 19 July, 11am - 1pm, meeting at the Pilotage Building, near Museum of Liverpool

🎫 Tickets available below ⬇️

https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/events/liverpool-irish-famine-trail-introductory-tours/

02/06/2026

👟 Irish traditions...

We're getting to thinking more about our 2026 Festival theme 'I Am Here', and this week we're wondering what traditions have persisted through the generations of Liverpool Irish communities across the city region 👩‍👧‍👦

From music to literature, GAA and even our colloquialisms, we see all the time how Ireland's culture lives on in Liverpool's diaspora and ancestors. Are there any traditions you've kept through your Irish family history? 💭

Let us know ⬇⬇

28/05/2026

🪅 A very special occasion!

Last week, Uachtarán na hÉireann / President of Ireland Catherine Connolly embarked on her first visit to Britain as President of Ireland.

Her excellency hosted receptions in London and Leeds, and the Festival team were privileged to attend at both Irish Embassy London and Leeds Irish Centre 🪉

It was great to hear her excellency detail her visit, acknowledge the importance of Irish diaspora connections and see some lovely friends!

Until next time President Connolly! ✈️

26/05/2026

🪉 Liverpool City Region Music Board Music Month!

May is Liverpool's first Music Month, celebrating a whole host of talent across the city region. As the month draws to a close, we're reflecting on what music means to our Liverpool Irish communities.

One of the strongest Irish influences on Liverpool is its music communities. There's trad music seisiúns on every corner, and even our greatest icons have Irish heritage... 🪲🪲

Here's some of the boss music we had at ... we can't wait for more to come this autumn!

22/05/2026

👟 Following National Famine Commemoration Day, and in keeping with this year’s theme, “I Am Here”, this week we’re asking an important question - how did those arriving from Ireland during An Gorta Mór make Liverpool their home? 🏘️

How did people find a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar city?

Various sites on the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail remind us that being an Irish migrant in Liverpool during the Great Hunger was far from easy. The city’s population tripled in the space of 30 years, and many arriving families were forced into slum living and overcrowded court housing.

Typhus outbreaks became known as “Irish Fever”, fuelling anti-Irish prejudice as well as causing devastating loss of life.

Finding belonging in 1840s Liverpool as an Irish migrant was wholly difficult, and serves as a poignant reminder of the hardships faced by displaced people throughout history and across the world today. 🌍

For those Scousers who trace their Irish heritage back to An Gorta Mór - be proud of the resilience and strength your ancestors showed in saying “I Am Here” and building a home despite unimaginable hardship. 💚

19/05/2026

⚓ Liverpool’s waterfront holds many stories, and Clarence Dock is one of the most powerful. During the years of An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger) in the 1840s, this area was a key arrival point for steamships carrying Irish passengers across the Irish Sea.

Thousands of people fleeing famine, poverty and eviction passed through these docks. For many, Liverpool became home; for others, it was the first step on a longer journey to new lives across the world.

Today, Clarence Dock is marked as a stop on the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail, helping visitors reflect on the journeys, resilience and experiences of the Irish people who arrived here and shaped the city’s story.

📍 Follow the trail across Liverpool to uncover the places where these histories unfolded, from the docks where migrants arrived to the communities that welcomed them.

👉 Learn more about the Liverpool Irish Famine Trail on our website. https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/clarence-dock/

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Website

https://www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/

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