Friends of the Irish Night returns to June 2023

The next installment of the ever-popular Friends of the Irish Night is taking place on Thursday, June 29, with regular hosts Shamrock Street, described as ‘one of the liveliest Irish party bands’ in the North East, taking to the stage once more after a tour in Europe.

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.

Friends of the Irish night organiser Eddie Mcintyre said: “Shamrock Street are back hosting the evening after returning from a successful tour of the Netherlands, including two slots on Dutch TV, which was followed by two gigs in Edinburgh.”

Eddie added that the night would also include floor singers.

The Friends of the Irish Night, which gets under way at 8.15pm, 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.

It 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, 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.