St Brigid's Day 2022 at Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain
Event
25 January 2022
The Embassy’s 5th annual St. Brigid’s Day event takes place on 1st February, featuring 19 trailblazing women from Britain and Ireland, who are making their mark in diverse fields including music, media, sport, food, science, and literature.
Led by MC Dearbhail McDonald, guests will enjoy performances from opera singer Ruby Philogene-Doran; Irish/Zimbabwean singer Shiv and poet and writer Esme Allman, as well as a keynote address from chef and owner of Myrtle restaurant, Anna Haugh.
This year’s event will also include panel discussions on Women and Climate; Women and Sport and, to mark the centenary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses on 2nd February, 2022, a panel on Women and Joyce, which will all be made available online after the event.
Irish Cultural and Community organisations across London and beyond are again also marking the occasion. Events include:
- 29th January: the London Irish Centre will be hosting a gala concert celebrating the creativity and resilience of Irish women, hosted by Tara Flynn;
- 30th January: the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith presents the renowned folk group, the Casey Sisters;
- 1st February – 28th February: Irish Film London will present a month-long programme of the best female-led short films.
More information on these events is available in our programme of partner events.
Read more about our St Brigid's Day 2020 keynote speaker, MC, and artists below.
Find out more about our panels on Women and Climate Emergency, Women and Sport, and Women and James Joyce in the linked panel guides.
MC, Keynote Speaker, and Performers
MC: Dearbhail McDonald
Dearbhail is an award winning Irish journalist, author, broadcaster and motivational speaker. A global Eisenhower Fellow, Dearbhail has presented ‘Sunday with Dearbhail’ on BBC Radio Ulster.
The Newry native chairs the strategy committee of the Centre Cultuerel Irlandais in Paris and is a member of the board of Fighting Words, Ireland’s national creative writing centre for children and young adults.
Dearbhail received an inaugural Dublin City University Special Alumni Achievement award for her contribution to public affairs journalism and is an Irish Tatler Media Woman of the Year.
Keynote Speaker: Anna Haugh
Anna Haugh is a celebrity chef and owner of Myrtle Restaurant.
Anna began her career with Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain in Dublin. She then moved to London, where she worked with Philip Howard, Shane Osborn, and Gordon Ramsay. In May 2019, she founded Myrtle Restaurant in Chelsea, London. The Irish Michelin star-winning chef Myrtle Allen, founder of Ballymaloe House, inspired the name Myrtle. Myrtle Restaurant focuses on fantastic Irish recipes, produce, and talent.
Anna has worked on numerous television shows for the BBC, such as Royal Recipes, MasterChef, Saturday Kitchen, and the breakfast show Morning Live.
Shiv
Shiv is a Zimbabwean/Irish musician based in Dublin. Having established herself as a house DJ, she turned her attention to where her passion truly lay in song writing. Drawing influence from the likes of Pip Millet, Frank Ocean and Lianne La Havas, she began crafting her debut release.
Shiv’s work has captured the attention of many Irish and UK radio stations, including 2FM and BBC. She has been featured in publications such as Hot Press, The Line of Best Fit, and COLORSXSTUDIOS, as well as being listed on The Irish Times, RTÉ, and Hot Press 2021 Rising List.
Shiv’s upward trajectory is increasing exponentially and this soulful songstress recently released her second EP, “The Love Interlude”.
Ruby Philogene
In her career, Ruby Philogene-Doran has sung in opera, oratorio, and recitals throughout Europe and the United States, including the Royal Opera House, Deutsche OperaBerlin, La Monnaie Royal Opera Brussels, and the San Francisco Symphony. She has also worked with many of the world’s finest conductors.
London-born, Ruby studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama followed by a Masters at the Curtis Institute Philadelphia. She was subsequently the first prize winner of the Kathleen Ferrier competition.
In 2017, Ruby was appointed a Professor of Voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is now resident in London with her husband Seán Doran, former Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the English National Opera.
Ruby was made a Member of the British Empire on the Queens Birthday Honours list for her services to music.
Riho Akagi
A London-based Japanese pianist, Riho Akagi—who is accompanying Ruby Philogene at the St Brigid’s Day event—graduated from Tokyo College of Music with a Masters Degree in 2015.
She subsequently studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama on both solo and piano accompaniment postgraduate courses, gaining the award of Concert Recital Diploma for a high distinction in her final recital. Riho completed a fellowship year at the Guildhall, where she now works as an accompanist and tutor.
Riho has played at the Barbican Hall, and appeared in the Folkestone Book Festival and at Milton Court Concert Hall, among other performances. She also gave a prize-wining performance in The Emmy Destinn Young Singers Awards 2019 with Mark Bautista, who won Dvorak Society for Czech and Slovak Music Prize.
Riho is currently a freelance professional collaborative pianist and piano tutor based in the UK and Japan.
Esme Allman
Esme Allman is a poet, writer, theatre-maker, and facilitator based in South East London. She works in a multi-disciplinary way exploring blackness, desire, imagination, and the intersection of these themes.
Esme's work has appeared at the Barbican Centre, English Heritage and the ICA, BBC Radio 3, and BBC Radio 6. Most recently, she was awarded an Artist Residency at the Roundhouse in performing arts for the year 2021/2022.
