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St. Patrick's Day 

Legend has it, well at least 1980’s Irish Primary school, that Patrick was born in modern day Wales. When he was a teenager, he was captured by Irish pirates. He was taken to Ireland and sold as a slave where he worked as a shepherd for 6 years. While tending the sheep in the fields he spoke to God, strengthening his belief through prayer. He heard a voice telling him he would go home and a ship was waiting for him. He fled is master and found a ship that would take him back to Britain.  Patrick studied in Europe and after several years of study Patrick had a vision telling him to go back to Ireland to bring God to the people. The story goes he baptised thousands of people and explained the trinity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit by using the Shamrock. It is this reason the shamrock is associated with St. Patrick’s Day.  

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Parades

The first record of a St. Patrick’s Day Parade was on March 17, 1601, in Florida in a Spanish colony by and Irish vicar named Ricardo Artur.

 

It took over a century for the first parade in New York city in 1772.

 

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade held in Ireland was in Waterford in 1903. 

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Pre-covid St. Patrick's Day Parades have been held in Singapore. Last year we held a Video parade. see below. This year we are holding a 

St Patrick’s Day Photo parade on social media.  Using the hashtag: 
#wearyourgreenforstpats2022 

2021 St. Patrick's Day video parade

Irish Dancing

There are few references to the early history of Irish dancing, as the Vikings destroyed many of the records of the 7th and 8th century, but it is believed that the early Druids used dance in their pagan rituals. Following the arrival of the Celts from central Europe over 2000 years ago dance again features prominently in celebrations. 

Around 1750 the arrival of the Irish Dance Master heralded a formal acknowledgement of Irish dance. The Master would travel from village to village, dressed in brightly coloured clothes and carrying a staff. It was a great honour to have a Dance Master in your midst. 

In April 1994, Irish dancing hit the global stage with the performance of Riverdance as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest, viewed by over 300 million people. By the following year the Riverdance stage show had begun.

The first children's Irish Dancing classes in Singapore in the 1980's and 1990's were run by St. Patrick's Society at Kingsmead Hall behind St. Ignatius church. Following the rise in popularity of Irish Dance after Riverdance, Irish Inspirational Dance was established circa 1997. The Irish community has been extremely lucky to have had champion dancers run the dance school since its inception. The school is currently run by Tanya Krasheinnnikova, it has expanded from children's classes to ECA classes in school and adult classes. Irish Inspirational dancers play an important part in all St Patrick's Day related events and are usually seen on stage not only in Singapore but in Penang and Jakarta as well.

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The Singapore Gaelic Lions was formed in 1997 and has grown to become one of the largest Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Asia. Their 200+ members represent Singapore in the sports of Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie. The membership hail from all over the world, including Asia-Pac, Europe and North America.

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Singapore Gaelic Cubs is the Kids & Youths club for Gaelic games. 
We play Gaelic Football every Sunday Morning at Turf City Centaurs playing fields. We also play Hurling when outdoor sports restrictions allow.
Everyone is welcome to join the Gaelic Cubs!  Presently our kids originate from across all nationalities, both Local Singapore and International Schools. Membership approached 100 kids (pre-covid) and our weekly Sunday Training sessions are popularly fully subscribed. 
Kids can start from 4 years old, can join at any age, and then continue up to 15/16 years.
Gaelic Football for kids is recognized as being the most complete all-round physical development and team-oriented sport today - as defined by leading sports science centres. It also sets up the kids for fluid interplay with other major field sports including soccer, rugby, AFL, etc.
Why not come for a trial session !
Currently we train from 11:00am~12:45pm on Sundays, at 200 Turf Club Road.
Map Location: https://goo.gl/maps/46No7FDY9p8up9bA6
WhatsApp/Msg: James @ 98229213

 

Gaelic Games

The Gaelic Athletic Association, in its modern form, was started in 1884, as an amateur sports and cultural association. However, the sports themselves precede the organisation by many centuries with references to Hurling from the 8th century.

The Sports under the GAA banner are Football, Hurling and Camogie, Handball and Rounders. It is the largest sports association in Ireland with 2,800 clubs and over 800,000 members in Ireland and overseas.

 

Gaelic Football is the most popular and is played by 250,000 men and women. In Ireland, it is played as a game of two halves over 70 minutes with 15 players aside. It is played on a rectangular pitch with posts akin to those used in Rugby. The objective is to score the most goals (similar to soccer) and/or points which are counted as over the bar and between the posts. One goal is the equivalent of 3 points. A player may take 4 steps with the ball in hand before they have to either bounce, solo, hand-pass or kick the ball into play. While there are some changes to the format for the Asian game, the same basic rules apply.

 

Hurling is the oldest of Irish sports and dates from pre-Christian times. It is played on the same rectangular pitch, posts and objectives as Gaelic Football. However, the game is played using an ash stick between 30 and 37inches long with a broad paddle end. This stick or hurl is used to carry or hit the sliotar which is similar to a hard, dense tennis ball, weighing about 4oz. It is one of the fastest field games in the world and has approximately 100,000 players. The women’s equivalent is called Camogie and uses a slightly smaller pitch and hurl.

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Lion City Pipe Band

Taste of Home

Our favourite baking recipes to remind us of home; scones, soda bread and shamrock cookies. 

Soda Bread

350g Wholewheat/wholemeal flour,

150g all-purpose flour, 1 tsp salt,

1 tsp baking soda, 3 tblsp seeds

(sunflower,pumpkin, flax seeds),

25g butter softened, 1 egg,

375/400ml buttermilk

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1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C.

2. Sift together the flours, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix in the seeds. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre.

3. In a jug measure the buttermilk and beat in the egg. Pour most of this liquid into the flour mixture and mix by hand. Your fingers should be outstretched like a claw. the dough should be soft but not too sticky, add more of the buttermilk mixture if needed.

4. Turn out on to a floured surface and bring the dough together. I like to make it in a loaf tin which I have pre-lined with baking paper. If you prefer you can share into a round about 4cm thick and cut a cross in the middle.

5. Bake for 15 Minutes. Turn don the oven to 200C and bake for another 30 minutes. When done you should hear a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of the loaf. Leave on a rack to cool.

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