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St. Patrick's Festival Lisboa 2016

The first ever St. Patrick's Festival Lisboa will take place from 8 until 19 March 2016 at venues across the city.

In 2016, there will be an 11 day festival to celebrate St. Patrick's Festival Lisboa. More information can be found at www.tinyurl.com/StPatricksFestivalLisboa

To kick off, the Camara Municipal Lisboa, the Embassy and Rince na Lisboa, Irish Acadmeny of Dance organised a public display of Ireland dance in Lisbon

 "Twinsome minds"

Tuesday 8 March 2016, 18:30, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

‘Twinsome Minds’ is a multimedia performed talk with text by Richard Kearney and moving images by Sheila Gallagher. The performance re-imagines a series of micro-narratives surrounding the Easter Rising in 1916 in Dublin and the World War One battlefields of Belgium.

Through an interplay of storytelling, animations, music and poetry, Twinsome Minds mines what is often lost behind official historical accounts and acts of commemoration, and proposes a transformative work of interpreting Dublin’s Easter Rising for a new generation.

'Strangers to Citizens'

Thursday, 10 March 2016, 19:00, Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães

Following wars in Ireland during the 16th century, there was a wave of irish migration to Europe. Some these migrants had highly successful and illustrious careers; others weren't so fortunate.

To tell their story, this exhibition captures their stories. The exhibition in Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, Cascais, is particularly apt as the museu was originally built by descendant of the O’Neill family who arrived in Portugal in the eighteenth century.

The launch of the exhibition will be accompanied by the official greening of the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Festival.
The exhibition will be open from 10-21 March 2016.

"St. Patrick's Gala Dinner"

Saturday, 12 March 2016, 19:30, Grand Real Villa Itália

This annual gala dinner is organised by the Irish Association of Portugal. The evening showcases Irish food, music and dance.

"Greening" of Lisboa

Monday 14 March 2016, from nightfall

From 14-21 March, iconic monuments in Lisbon will be going green for St. Patrick’s Day. This is part of the global greening of monuments across the world including the pyramids in Egypt, the Sydney Opera House and the Great Wall of China

"Culturas da comemoração: o caso irlandês"

Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 18:00, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Lisboa, Anfiteatro 3

Rui Carvalho Homem, University of Porto, will deliver a lecture on "Culturas da comemoração: o caso irlandês". This event is a perfect complement to ‘Twinsome minds’ from the previous week. Professor Carvalho Homem will speak on the culture of commemoration. Ireland is currently celebrating a decade of commemorations to mark a turbulent journey to the establishment of the Irish State in 1922.

Children’s Parade to mark St. Patrick’s Day

Thursday, 17 March 2016, 11:00, Belém

The children of the Bom Successo school in Belém will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a parade in Belém. Bom Successo Convent the convent opened its doors in 1639 becoming the first female convent of the Irish Dominican Order worldwide. Irish nuns then founded the school. There are still Irish nuns serving at Bom Successo.

"The Irish in their own words"

Thursday, 17 March 2016, Leituria bookshop

The story of the Irish told through mythological facts, poetry and prose, and a few tunes.

Tracing from the dawn of time, through the Celtic Dawn, the Age of Saints and Scholars, the invasions and suppressions, the generations of resistance, slavery, famine, and war, Irish author Peter Murphy will present the story of a people who have always coloured the imaginings of the world.

And with time to spare to go and do a bit of celebrating, afterwards!

"Casement" A new play

by Christabelle Peters & Bartholomew Ryan

Friday and Saturday 18-19 March 2016, 20:00, The Lisbon Players theatre, Rua da Estrela, nº 10, 1200-699 Lisbon,

Sir Roger Casement: Irish patriot, anti-slavery campaigner, homosexual, traitor… This challenging performance offers a unique insight into the inner life of one of history’s more complicated figures.

Casement is a monologue that takes us on a captivating journey of personal transformation from the Congo, to the Amazon, and onward to colonial Ireland. The special two-night debut performance will commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Easter Rising in Dublin that led to Casement’s hanging. The show will be followed by an interactive discussion on the man and his times, and how this story sheds light on today.

"St. Patrick's Festival Lisboa" Family Festival

19 March, 11:00 to 19:00, Jardim do Torre de Belém

From 11:00 to 13:00 Gaelic Games of Hurling and Football. These will be introductory sessions for adults and children. No prior experience is needed and the focus is on fun for all the family.

From 13:00 there will be Irish music, dance and other surprise guests. There will be a children corner with arts, crafts and storytelling. Food will be available for purchase.

At 17:00, there will be a screening of the Ireland v. Italy 6 nations Rugby match for the Irish community