Saint Patrick’s Day, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, The Feast of Saint Patrick, Paddy’s Day.
March 17th is an especially celebratory day in Ireland, and is also loved and observed in many other countries where folks of Irish descent or fans of the culture and history reside. Its origins lay in the 17th century as a “Christian Feast Day” to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and the memorial of the death of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Then, in 1903, this date was made an official public holiday and has been honored for years by wearing the color green, donning imagery of shamrocks and leprechauns, hosting parades and throwing parties … all the while enjoying Guinness, various whiskeys and corned beef and cabbage.
Yet, what shall we listen to on such a festive occasion? We could go the traditional Gaelic or Celtic route. Or, we could get into some Flogging Molly or The Pogues. We could even throw it back to the 90s scene with The Cranberries or The Corrs. U2, anyone?
But we were really curious what sort of musical “pot of gold” Ireland has going on right now, in our day. So, lo and behold, here is our list of 26 current Irish bands to feast your ears on. Have fun with this one and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Image via Nicole Ziza Bauer
