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What is the St Patrick's Family Fun Day?
The St Patrick's Family Fun Day is an annual event hosted by the Melbourne Irish Festival. The not-for-profit event is open to all, and brings people together to celebrate Irish culture and heritage.
The festival is an opportunity to come together, reflect on the true nature of a modern and diverse Irish community, and its contribution to the fabric of Australian society today.
Photos from our 2023 Festival thanks to the amazing Adam Purcell
Raffle Tickets
UPDATE 19/3/24: The raffle is now complete. The winning ticket numbers are listed against the prizes below.
Please contact us with any questions about the prizes or winning tickets.
Fundraising tickets are the primary source of revenue for the Melbourne Irish Festival Committee, your support makes it happen, thank you!
1st Prize - 2 Return tickets to Ireland - Winning Ticket #0993
2 Return Tickets to Ireland Proudly sponsored by emeraldtravel.com.au
Maximum value of prize is $4000. (terms and conditions apply).
2nd Prize- National Celtic Festival at Portalington Experience Winning Ticket #0656
Exclusive package trip for 2 to the National Celtic Festival.
3rd Prize - A Taste Ireland Hamper Winning Ticket #0915
Delicious hamper full of nostalgic delights and treats for all occasion. Prize also includes a $100 gift voucher
4th Prize - Celtic Jewellery from Donal O'Grady Winning Ticket #0188
A beautiful piece of Celtic jewellery valued at $250
When: Sunday 17th March, 12-5pm
Where: Edinburgh Gardens, North Fitzroy
Music
The Simpson Three
The Simpson Three are a trio of Celtic musicians performing a wide range of genres including Irish, Old Time, Scottish and Australian music. These three siblings promise an explosive blend of traditional, contemporary and original tunes and songs. They are all highly talented multi-instrumentalists with tight and refined arrangements. Their line up includes the tenor banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bodhran, low whistle and guitar. and Clancy, Declan and Bec Simpson are all recent Winners of the National Folk Festival’s Declan Affley Award for Excellence in Traditional Music and the 2011 Folk Alliance Australia Youth Award. These dedicated musicians promise to ‘Crank It Up!’
Maggie Carty &
Mairtin Staunton
@maggiecartymusic
A Boyle native, Maggie comes from a long line of musicians. She is a talented banjo player and singer. You can expect a mix of traditional Irish folk music with harmonies and jazz undertones!
Mick Ryan
@mickryanmusic
Mick is a singer-songwriter and folk balladeer from Baile Átha Cliath that played the open mic scene in Dublin alongside acts like Damien Dempsey, Damien Rice, and Guggenheim Grotto. He'll be at the festival to perform Irish ballads, which you'll be keen to sing along. From traditional ballads and crowd favourites like Spancil Hill, Raglan Road, The Green Fields of France and more. Who is up for a sing-a-long???
Ceoltóirí Naarm
Ceoltóirí Naarm are a group of young musicians from Melbourne and Greater Victoria with a deep love for Irish Traditional music and song. These young musicians play a wide range of instruments and were a huge success at their first outing at the National Celtic Festival in 2023. The group comes together on Wednesday evenings at Comhaltas Melbourne to learn new tunes and put together sets, aided by Comhaltas music teachers, Aifric Boylan and Ciarán O'Grady. They are excited to be performing at various festivals in 2024, including the National Folk Festival at Canberra and a return to the National Celtic Festival @ Portarlington. They are looking forward to inspiring more young people to get involved in Irish music!
Dancing
There will be some excellent Melbourne Irish Dance Schools attending and performing at the Festival. The Dance Schools include:
- O'Connor School of Irish Dance
- Cosgriff Irish Dancing School
- McAleer Dance School
Thank you to our sponsors and donors
The Melbourne Irish Festival Committee would like to thank the following organisations for their support and generous donations, without which the festival could not happen.
Contact Us
You can contact us directly by filling in the contact form, by email, or via Facebook
Email: info@melbourneirishfestival.com
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GETTING THERE
By Car: Edinburgh Gardens is situated in suburban North Fitzroy, Mel Ref 44 B1. The Gardens are bordered by Brunswick street and this is perhaps the most convenient street to access the Gardens. There is parking around the Gardens but you will more than likely have to pay. Please pay attention to the parking instructions provided to avoid any fines. To plan your trip we suggest using the Google Maps link provided.
By Tram: Trams 11 and 112, the Fitzroy Bowls Club/Brunswick St stop.
For more details click on the Yarra Trams website.
By Train: Rushall is the nearest train station to Edinburgh Gardens. See the map to the right for more detail. On exiting Rushall station head southwest on Falconer Street until you reach Edinburgh Gardens.
Would you like to be a friend of the festival?
If you enjoyed the festival and would like to see it continue in the future please consider donating or contributing in some way. We are always looking for volunteers to help us run the festival.
Contact Us through email or Facebook, come and have a chat with us in the Information tent at the festival.