The festival's premier music event brings legendary Irish vocalist Sean Wilson and his band to perform at a social and dance night at Sheffield United Football Club on Friday. There will also be displays of traditional Irish dancing from Sheffield's Elizabeth Byrne School of Irish dance and Scoil Rince Nua school.
The story of the Irish revolutionary who played prominent roles in the 1916 Easter Rising and the formation of Ireland's first communist party before coming to live in Sheffield headlines the festival history events.
Scottish historian Dr Charlie McGuire will talk about his forthcoming book, Sean McLoughlin: Ireland's Forgotten Revolutionary, detailing the largely unknown figure who at the age of 20 assumed command in the final stages of the Easter Uprising in 1916.
After moving to Britain in 1924 he became involved in radical politics and trade unionism and was jailed soon after the General Strike in 1926. On his release he settled in Sheffield, raised a family and found employment as a clerk in the Town Hall's engineering office. e died in Sheffield of heart failure and hypertension, unheralded in either Britain or Ireland, in February 1960. The lecture on Sunday at St Vincent's Catholic Social Club is followed by music from Irish band Ballyhoo.
Sheffield University's Dr Kaarina Hollo will be lecturing on the history of Irish Gaelic and its usage in the modern world on Saturday, March 20, launching Sheffield Irish Language Group.
Already up and running is Irish Connections, an exhibition at the Showroom showcasing the talents of Irish artists in Sheffield with Irish connections.
At the Showroom Cinema on Saturday, March 27, David Shaw-Smith will introduce a set of documentaries he directed in the early 1970s for Irish state broadcaster RTE which capture traditional Irish craft skills and lifestyles.
On St Patrick's Day there will be Mass (with traditional Irish music) at St Marie's Cathedral at 12.45pm followed by a parade to the Town Hall (starting at 1.45pm) for a reception with the Lord Mayor and a showcase of Irish dancing and traditional music. Sheffield's is one of the few parades that takes place on St Patrick's Day itself and organisers are hoping all communities will participate.

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