The Manchester Irish Festival 2002

8th - 20th March 2002

Update:
12th March 2002
YGG turn Manchester Green for the Irish Festival

Manchester Town Hall was bathed in green light on Sunday 10th March for the arrival of the Young, Gifted & Green Irish Music Song & Dance troupe celebrating the launch of the seventh Manchester Irish Festival attended by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Richard Leese (leader of the Council), Gerald Kaufmann MP, Tony Lloyd MP, Gordon Burns of the BBC and other dignitaries and local celebrities. The YGG troupe performed the official VIP civic launch at Manchester Town Hall, compered by Alan Keegan of BBC GMR.

Mike McGoldrick (BBC Radio 2's Instrumentalist of the Year) and Dezi Donnelly (RTE's Young Traditional Musician of the Year) were just two of the special guests at the show, which was compered by BBC GMR's Alan Keegan seen here with Rochele Defoe and Leia Parkinson, the cover stars of this year's Manchester Irish Festival brochure.

The capacity filled Town Hall gave the troupe and its guests a standing ovation at the end of its 80 minute show.

With over a hundred events being staged, the festival has grown into the UK's biggest Irish festival and will kick start the six month 'Spirit of Friendship Festival' which is part of Manchester's Commonwealth Games Celebrations.