Páirc Festival, the much-anticipated celebration of Irish music and culture, is set to make a return to the outdoor grounds of the Irish Centre Kings Heath in Birmingham this August bank holiday weekend.
The organising team are pleased to announce they will be supporting two charities this year following an anonymous donation from a local Irish businessman.
The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, passed the opportunity of sponsorship to two deserving charities, organisers are now pleased to share that charities Betel UK and Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity will be the Páirc Festival 2023 headline charities.
Betel UK is an independent charity for men, women and families affected by drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness. The charity works tirelessly to provide a long term residence to those in need, assisting them at every step of their recovery in a safe and structured environment.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity exists to support the 90,000 sick kids treated at the hospital, from across the UK, every year. Charitable donations allow the hospital to be at the forefront of what’s possible, ensuring every patient and family benefits from the best care, treatment, experience and environment. The charity is currently fundraising for an iMRI scanner which will transform surgery for patients with a brain tumour or epilepsy.
The Páirc Festival organising team said; “We feel very fortunate to be given the opportunity to support two amazing charities, Betel UK and Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity at Páirc Festival this year. They are both incredible, life changing charities and we are proud to be shining a light on the incredible work they do.”
We are super excited to host Van Morrison, an international artist with global success in only our second year. We feel our lineup is really strong with The Waterboys, Mary Black and Nathan Carter, plus many names joining us from Ireland and the UK.
We can’t wait to see everyone come together for a celebration of Irish music and culture like no other.”
Betel UK said, “Betel UK has helped many thousands of people struggling with addictions and homelessness free of charge, setting them on the road to recovery whilst saving society hundreds of millions of pounds. We’re honoured the Pairc Festival is standing with us to deliver hope to hurting lives and families in need.”
Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity said, “We’re incredibly grateful to Páirc Festival for its support. We urgently need to raise £1.5million for an iMRI scanner which will allow our brain surgeons to accurately and confidently identify, during a surgical procedure, whether they have removed all the tumour, right when they need the information the most. Every penny donated will make a big difference to some of the UK’s sickest kids.”
Páirc Festival is on course to be the biggest celebration of Irish Music and Culture in the UK, bringing the best talent from Birmingham and Ireland to the outdoor grounds of the New Irish Centre in Kings Heath, on 26th – 27th August 2023.
The festival will bring multiple performances celebrating the link between Birmingham and Ireland across a two day celebration!
Saturday will be a showcase of Irish talent with Van Morrison headlining and fellow national treasure Mary Black taking to the stage. Also joining Páirc Festival on Saturday is Irish country music’s golden boy Derek Ryan. The County Carlow singer continues to win fans with his chart topping albums and smash hit songs and joins Páirc following his sell out Pure & Simple Tour. He’ll be performing alongside Galway singer-songwriter Mary Coughlan and All Folk’d Up, who will be playing their eclectic mix of classic Irish sounds with their own modern twist. Birmingham Irish talent for Saturday will be represented by performers Danny Darcy, On the Sesh, Bang on the Ear and Cairde.
On Sunday, Páirc will be headlined by The Waterboys and returning country talent Nathan Carter. Playing the legends slot, will be beloved Irish folk band The Fureys, the group who have been entertaining audiences worldwide for more than 40 years with iconic hits I Will Love You, When You Were Sweet 16 and The Green Fields of France. Sunday will also see The High Kings take to the Páirc stage. The Dublin band have enjoyed enormous success in their careers so far, including a recent performance on the Empire State Building for St Patrick’s Day and the release of their latest album “The Road Not Taken” number 1 in Ireland itunes.
Sunday’s celebrations will also include a special performance from The Legend of Luke Kelly, created and performed by the renowned Chris Kavanagh that takes audiences on a journey through Luke’s music as well as exciting new Irish talents, Ceol. The day will be rounded off with performances from Birmingham Irish performers The Father Teds and Ash Sheehan.
Attendees will also enjoy Páirc Festival’s street food village, a trad stage, Irish dancing, market stalls celebrating local makers and traditional Irish produce. Plus outdoor bars, beer tents and the Páirc Awards, a ceremony honouring those that have made exceptional contributions to the Irish community in Birmingham.
Tickets for Páirc Festival are available on the Páirc Festival website https://paircfestival.com/buy-tickets/.
For more information about the festival, please visit the website paircfestival.com or social media @paircfestival.