Friday Mixtape: Club Céilí spins surprise gems from Ireland for St. Patrick's day

Date
17 March 2017

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! On 17 March every year shamrock badges are pinned to our coats, pubs’ jukeboxes repeatedly play The Dubliners or The Dropkick Murphys, and endless pints of Guinness are poured. In celebration of St. Patrick, Karl Toomey, a very dear friend of It’s Nice That and previous head of creative at our sister agency Anyways, has teamed up with Jon Averill of record label Shock World Service, to create this week’s mixtape.

The pair have not only selected a wide breadth songs that you might not instantly associate with Ireland, but created their very own mix with snippets of surprise Irish heritage along the way.

Why have you picked these songs, what do they remind you of or make you feel?

Well St. Patrick’s Day is about celebrating Irish culture. Ordinarily this includes storytelling, dancing, live music, poetry, parades and more – all brilliant traditions we’re very proud of.

For our mixtape we wanted to focus on music that perhaps wouldn’t be immediately associated with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day. Independent and/or electronic music for the most part. To tie these different styles together, and to root things back in the nostalgic feel of St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve mixed in snippets and soundbites from old Irish news stories, films, poems and advertisements.

We’ve named our mixtape Club Céilí after the 1965 Irish TV show of the same name. Check out the lovely type from the show’s title credits.

Who is St Patrick to you?

Well for one, he’s said to have been from Wales, not Ireland. There’s also debate about his religious background – some say he was Protestant which is funny when you consider Ireland’s strong Catholic heritage. Either way for us he’s a man that rid Ireland of snakes and turned milkshakes green. A top fella.

What song instantly reminds you of Ireland?

Karl: I wish it was something classier but the Get On Down To Bargaintown advert always reminds me of home.

Jon: I hate this song, but for some reason it was in the Irish charts for about 18 years. I think it still is.

How will you be spending this St Patrick’s day?

The traditional way. In The Auld Shillelagh, Church Street, Stoke Newington, London.

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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