For the past 20 years, London Irish’s annual celebration of St Patrick’s Day has been a standout event in the rugby calendar, attracting supporters from all over Britain and Ireland to take part in the festivities at a dedicated home fixture.
Unfortunately, last year’s St Patrick’s Party fixture, scheduled for the Northampton Saints match on Saturday 28 March 2020 and due to be the final celebration of its kind at the Madejski Stadium, was called off due to the nationwide lockdown that had just come into effect.
This year, although the scope of the festivities will still be limited due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the club is determined to honour the legacy of the now infamous event and provide supporters with plenty of entertainment to mark the occasion.
While supporters are currently unable to attend matches in person, the club will instead be hosting a virtual ’10 Days of St Patrick’s Day Festival’ – in partnership with Gaucho Restaurants - kicking off on St Patrick’s Day itself (Wednesday 17 March) and running for ten consecutive days, culminating with the Exiles’ home games against Bath Rugby on Saturday 27 March.
On each of the ten days, the club will be running an activity, or sharing a special piece of St Patrick’s themed content, for the Exile Nation to take engage with.
Included in the Festival will be a fantastic virtual race night - with YY Security - on the evening of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a Zoom quiz night hosted by London Irish legend Topsy Ojo, a virtual cook-along with London Irish players, a design-a-kit competition, exclusive Online Shop offers, a special St Patrick’s themed podcast, a downloadable party pack – and much more!
What’s more, a souvenir St Patrick’s Day Festival match day programme will be produced for the Bath fixture, containing interviews with the stars of past St Patrick’s Party fixtures and revisiting some of the most memorable matches from the yearly celebration.
The programme – which will be the first ever physical match day programme at the Brentford Community Stadium – is on sale now for £5 (plus P&P), click here to order now.
Stay tuned for more information on specific events and how you can get involved.
Mark your diaries, #ExileNation, and get ready to celebrate #10DaysOfSPD like never before!
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