A huge Irish festival is coming to Manchester city centre this month as the city gears up to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
Piccadilly Gardens will be paying homage to the Emerald Isle with a weekend full of live music and dance, free-flowing Irish stouts, street food and more.
Irish dancers, pipe bands and Irish folk musicians will take to the stage in the middle of the gardens throughout the long weekend, whilst huge bars will have all manner of Irish tipples – from dry Irish stouts and Irish coffees to hot toddies and fine whiskeys.
Free entertainment will be taking place in the gardens from 12-7pm every day throughout the long weekend, promising to get even the most reluctant toe-tappers up and dancing.
The free music and street food event will run from St Patrick’s Day, Thursday 17 March, through to Sunday 20 March on the boardwalk in Piccadilly Gardens.
Whilst Manchester already plays host to an annual community organised city-wide Irish Festival, this new additional event has been put together to help bring a taste of Ireland into the heart of the city centre.
The event has been funded through the European Regional Development Fund and their Welcome Back Fund, which has provided councils across the country with a share of £56 million to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.
Councillor Pat Karney, city centre lead for Manchester City Council, said: “We all know that if you can’t be in the Emerald Isle itself then Manchester is the next best place to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
“We also know that one day alone isn’t nearly long enough to celebrate all that’s great about Ireland and its unique cultural heritage of music and dance – which is why we’ve put together the weekender event to share the love over four days and give everyone a chance to enjoy the craic.
“It’s brilliant to see so many people already coming back into the city centre to enjoy what it has to offer, and the Manchester Irish Weekender gives another good reason to come into town. It’s going to be fantastic, so find a shamrock, wear something green, and come on down!”
What else is happening in Manchester for St Patrick’s Day?
Other events to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Manchester include the annual parade organised by the Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill which takes place this Sunday 13 March, and the Manchester Irish Festival which has events throughout the month up to 20 March.
This weekend’s parade will start from the Irish World Heritage Centre on Queen’s Road in Cheetham Hill at 12 noon on Sunday and will follow a route down Cheetham Hill Road as far as the AO Arena before turning round and following the same route back to where it started.
Highlights of the Manchester Irish Festival include the award-winning Fianna Phadraig Pipe band who are coming up to their 75th anniversary and will be taking the festival on tour with visits to different locations across the city throughout this weekend, before touring Levenshulme, Burnage, and Fallowfield on St Patrick’s Day itself.
Tatton Park makes decision to temporarily close gate after visitor is attacked by rutting deer
Emily Sergeant
Tatton Park has made the decision to temporarily close one of its gates after a member of the public following a ‘recent change in deer activity’.
It comes after ‘a couple of injuries’ despite warnings and a large amount of signage across the park.
The decision to close the Knutsford gate had to be taken by Tatton management with input from Cheshire East Council’s health and safety manager, and its director of growth and enterprise, along with ‘expert advice’ from the leading deer vet who works across many deer parks in the UK.
The Knutsford gate will be closed to pedestrians and vehicles ‘until further notice’, but the Dog Wood entrance and the main Rostherne entrance will remain open.
Tatton Park cited a current ‘larger number’ of stags than usual found feeding on fallen acorns near the Knutsford entrance, and an overall ‘recent shift in our deer herd’s behaviour during the rutting season’ as the reason for the gate’s closure in a statement shared to social media this week.
Rutting season – which refers to the autumn deer breeding season, typically from late September to early November in the UK – is when deer herds may exhibit aggression if approached.
“If you come across wild deer whilst visiting, we strongly advise you take an alternative route,” the park said in its statement.
The park’s Operations Team added in a statement, as reported by the MEN: “Despite all warnings, a large amount of signage, staff being on hand to advise people to avoid the deer, and all efforts to try to re-route people and get them to stop approaching the deer, we have unfortunately had a couple of injuries.”
One of the ‘injuries’ referred to was an incident involving 67-year-old man named Rod Savage, who was reportedly hurled up in the air after a large stag suddenly appeared and charged at him with his antlers, puncturing his stomach.
Tatton Park temporarily closes its gate after a visitor is attacked by rutting deer / Credit: Diana Parkhouse (via Unsplash)
The terrifying ordeal happened just 300 yards inside the Knutsford entrance, contributing to the gate’s temporary closure.
Tatton Park has now issued warnings and advice to all future visitors.
People are being told to ‘never walk between the deer’ and ‘never put yourself between deer and a fence’, while always maintaining a safe distance of 50m or more when possible, and ultimately remaining vigilant and fully-aware of your surroundings at all times.
“We’ll be monitoring the situation daily and continue to provide updates,” the park concluded in its statement on social media.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”
Featured Image – Diana Parkhouse (via Unsplash)
News
Shocking new study reveals that almost 100 people a day are caught drink-driving
Emily Sergeant
Nearly 100 drivers a day in Britain have had ‘drink-drive endorsements’ added to their licences in the past three years, a shocking new study has revealed.
Alarmingly, it’s people between the ages of 25 and 39 that are the most frequently penalised for drink-driving – with around 48,000 drivers in this age bracket being handed endorsements, followed closely by 40,000 drivers aged 40 to 65.
In contrast, only 15,000 drivers aged 17 to 24 were penalised, and a mere 3,000 over-65s received points on their licence between 2022 and 2024.
It’s all according to a study by road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, using data obtained from the DVLA via a Freedom of Information request.
A shocking new study has revealed that almost 100 people a day are caught drink-driving / Credit: Pexels
Drivers caught over the alcohol limit face automatic licence revocation, potential imprisonment, and unlimited fines, while the endorsement remains on a driving licence for 11 years.
Another shocking revelation from the study is that fatalities linked to drink-driving have climbed over the past decade, peaking in 2022 at the highest level in 13 years – with the RAC saying this trend ‘raises alarms’ about the effectiveness of current road safety measures.
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis called it ‘completely unacceptable’.
“These disturbing figures show the twin evils of driving under the influence of drink and drugs are behind a frightening number of lives lost on the UK’s roads every year,” he commented.
A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside / Credit – Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)
“A new approach to tackling these repugnant crimes is desperately needed. We hope this will be a key part of the Government’s forthcoming road safety strategy, [as] we’ve consistently been calling for a change in approach when it comes to reducing alcohol-related road deaths, as it’s clear the status quo isn’t working.”
The RAC has been campaigning for courts being given the powers to mandate the fitting of alcohol interlocks (‘alcolocks’) to offenders’ vehicles to prevent them driving drunk again.
It is also ‘supportive’ of the police being given the powers to immediately disqualify any driver who fails a drink or drugs test at the roadside.
Georgina Pellant -
10th March 2022 
