Large Manchester

The Manchester Irish Festival 2011 got off to a flying start on Friday night with a lively launch at the Town Hall.

The big names at the Irish Festival launch As Manchester prepares itself to become submerged in a sea of green, VIP guests were treated to a cultural feast of line dancing, fiddling and celebrity appearances. And with the Guinness flowing freely, you know this year's festival will be well worth toasting.

Festivities began with the charming Ss John Fischer and Thomas More Catholic primary school choir, who provided youthful exuberance and quite angelic harmonies, most heartfelt being a lovely rendition of Danny Boy. The celebrity guests were introduced amid rousing bagpipes, amongst those were Manchester City 'keeper Shay Given and Waterloo Road starlet Ceallach Spellman, both wooing the audience with graceful speeches. It was great to see Given at the event, who had declined a visit in a previous year due to football commitments, but was thoroughly available for this evening (and not because he's lost his place to Joe Hart, the poor chap had his arm in a sling following a shoulder operation). Shay Given

The celebrity contribution preceded many more exciting performances . The Irish dancing was truly a sight to behold, with intricate twinkle-toed movement accompanying some epic, dramatic music, before exploding into fully-fledged Irish jig music. Music was certainly the order of the day, and it was exceptionally enjoyable (a certain acoustic version of Thin Lizzy's Whisky In The Jar was particularly moving and Red's heartfelt, homespun folk music was very reminiscent of The Coors).

Celebrity guests The proud Lord Mayer, councillor Mark Hackett gave some words of inspiration to the audience, reminding us of the close-knit relationship between Manchester and Ireland, and just why this is the biggest Irish festival In Europe. With over 200 events at 56 venues occurring around this great city in the next two weeks, this could be one of the biggest Irish festivals yet.

The Manchester Irish Festival 2011 occurs between March 4th-March 20th. Visit http://www.manchesteririshfestival.com to download the festival brochure.

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