Paris: St Patrick's Day has become a time-honoured tradition in Paris, and events alter little from one year to the next.
Ambassador Pádraic MacKernan and his wife Catríona last night invited prominent members of the Irish community and French friends of Ireland to a reception at their residence.
Irish pubs in Paris are packed every St Patrick's evening. Carr's and Kitty O'Shea's, in the city centre, are the best established, but there are 60 others scattered across the city. Jameson bought full-page advertisements in French newspapers to mark the occasion. The historic Irish College, reborn in 2002 as the Centre Culturel Irlandais, began celebrations on March 14th with Mass at the nearby Église Saint-Étienne du Mont.
On Tuesday night, Irish violinist Martin Hayes and American guitarist Dennis Cahill played classical music, blues, jazz and traditional Irish tunes.
The centre hosted three events yesterday. Artists Niall de Búrca and Toby Kinsella performed a musical tale of travel from Ireland to Quebec to New Zealand.
Ellen Hinsey, a poet and translator living in Paris, read excerpts from the work of writers from the 10 new EU member countries. And artists Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly opened their "rvb" show in the centre's exhibition hall.