The Birmingham Irish Association, are delighted to be the new custodians of the Birmingham St Patrick’s Day festival. The association will now take the opportunity to revive the parade to showcase more of the Irish culture that it brought to Birmingham in the post war years.

Working with partners and Birmingham City Council it will reach out to the community groups, bands, dance schools and Irish Community to see what can be achieved in the future.

Maurice Malone, Chief Executive of Birmingham Irish Association said; 

“Birmingham Irish Association are pleased to bring the annual Birmingham St Patricks Day festival under its remit and will take the opportunity to review, refresh and refocus the Parade, revitalised in the 1990’s. In no small way we believe the St Patrick’s Day festival and the Irish community helped to keep Digbeth alive and turn it into the vibrant cultural area it is today, but due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control it will not happen in this location in 2023.

“We aim to secure the Parade for future generations and showcase all Irish Traditional culture, music, dance, language and Gaelic sports, and the contribution of the Irish community to Birmingham. BIA will be working with participants, partners and Birmingham City Council to see what is feasible given timeframes and budget pressures and location issues. “Discussions are in the early stages and no firm decisions have been made.”

This year we welcomed culture specific groups, to our festival at Canon Hill Park which we hope will be the springboard for future events going forward. Although small in scale it certainly made up for this with a vibrant and colourful gathering that represented all that is good in our city and showcase the talents and passion of those groups taking part.

We welcomed the Lord Mayor of Birmingham as our guest of honour and those representatives from the City, the business world and the Irish Community. We hope everyone enjoyed the day and look forward to sharing with you our plans for 2024 in the near future.

Maurice Malone 

CEO, Birmingham Irish Association

Blessings To You - Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

Blessings come on St. Patrick's Day,

Everywhere you go smile along the way.

The Leprechaun and his gold bring good cheer,

To brighten up your smile and wash away any fear.

Luck is yours when you find a four-leaf clover,

Where your green until the day is over!

So here's to happy St. Patricks Day to thee,

Wishing you blessings filled with luck and gaiety!

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