Friends of the Irish Night returns to Jarrow for March 2023

The next installment of the ever-popular Friends of the Irish Night is taking place on Thursday, March 30, with regular hosts Shamrock Street, described as ‘one of the liveliest Irish party bands’ in the North East, taking to the stage once more.

The experienced group is comprised of Ged Cuscin on electric fiddle and flute, Kevin Campbell on guitar and mandolin, Martin Finney on percussion, Paul Lucas on mandolin and banjo, and Mick McCormack on guitar.

There will also be additional performances from floor singers, as Friends of the Irish night organiser Eddie Mcintyre explained.

“Shamrock Street will start the concert at 8.15pm and the first half will be followed by a selection of floor singers, with the Shamrocks then returning with a cameo of Celtic classics,” he said.

The Friends of the Irish Night takes place on the last Thursday of each month at the Alberta Club in Jarrow.

There is no cover charge for the event at the venue, in Railway Street, admission is free.

The Friends of Irish Night is one of South Tyneside’s longest-running regular events, dating back to 1962.

Last year marked its diamond anniversary, and organisers hope it has many more years left as a firm fixture of South Tyneside’s cultural calendar.

The event originally took place at the Bede’s Club, but moved to its ‘new’ home at the Alberta Club more than 25 years ago, with the new hosts promising organisers at the time ‘we will look after you’.

The Friends of the Irish Night may have been running for some six decades, but South Tyneside, and Jarrow and Hebburn, have been alive with the sounds of music from Ireland for more than a century, thanks to the settlers who came over to work in the heavy industries on the River Tyne.

The Irish workers’ influence on the area is well documented, with the area having been dubbed ‘Little Ireland’ due to the large population of people from Hibernia who came to know Tyneside as home.

Traces of the Irish accent can be found in parts of South Tyneside, as can many Irish names.