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March 25 St. Paddy's Day @ The Blarney StoneDespite minimal complaints that we weren't "Irish" enough, a good timewas had by most on March 17, 2009 at the [amazing] traditional Irish buffet and party at the Holiday Inn, Blarney Stone Irish Pub. The band rocked out, mostly in green, and even had some assistance from Irishman, Paul Horgan who belted out a couple traditional homeland tunes. Here is the story that ran in the Zhuhai Daily News about the event...... PS. don't forget to come party with us this Friday at the Blarney!
By Betty Lin, Zhu Hai Daily.
THERE were 150 expatriates and Chinese tasting Irish food, drinking beer, and enjoying the live western music and new friendships as they celebrated St Patrick’s Day at the Blarney Stone Irish Pub at the Holiday Inn in Jida on Tuesday evening. Now that the celebration of St Patrick’s Day is themed around all things Irish and associated with the colour green, the hotel promoted the festival with a free beer for anyone wearing green. Many male customers wore green T-shirts and women green skirts. Two band members wore green shirts and two others wore green Bermuda shorts outside their pants. Most customers had a sticker -- a big, green shamrock, which is Ireland’s national emblem -- on their clothes. The Buhao Boys Band, which is composed of all western musicians, was founded two years ago. Australian Macca, who plays piano; Douglas Gillespie on drum and harmonica; Brian “Butters” Mason, who plays bass; and German Marcus Albrecht, the youngest talented lad in the band who plays guitar; and later Greger on lead guitar, entertained people with jazz, blues, rock 'n roll and other western music. The band plays in the pub on Friday night and also has gigs in different restaurants and bars and in Zhongshan and other Delta cities, according to Douglas, who is co-founder of the band. Since it reopened in September 2005, the pub featuring wooden furnishing and Irish pictures has become a haunt for westerners, Betty Wang, a PR staff member of the Holiday Inn, explained. A corned beef and cabbage buffet, a collection of typical Irish food, was served. A white cross made of bread projected with characters of St Patrick’s Day stood among the deserts. There were three things special in the evening, Holiday Inn Zhuhai Executive Chef Michel Seyve explained. First of all, the corned beef, cabbage, Irish stew, scones and other dishes were typical Irish food eaten at celebrations, especially on St Patrick’s Day. Secondly, the shamrock, the national symbol of Ireland, was stuck on each customer’s clothes. Lastly, the typical Irish cross with a circle around it was created specially for the festival. Paul J Horgan, Managing Director of China Global Investment Co Ltd located in Gongbei, wore a green tie and two green pictures -- one of St Patrick more than a thousand years ago, and the other of a person impersonating St Patrick in Dublin in 2008. He said he was happy that the hotel staff had made a lot of preparations for the food and decorations. An Irishman himself, Paul sang three Irish songs to show his affection to his homeland and garnered much applause from the audience. He was proud of his country’s Riverdance, an exciting typical Irish dance show displaying music, dancing and singing and at the same time the story of Ireland and its people, he said. The troupe travels around the world to stage the show and promote Irish culture, he added. Since a large number of Irish people immigrated to America, many Americans have an Irish connection. Even American President Obama has one, Paul noted. Ireland is one of the very few countries that has access to the White House on the National Day, Paul said, noting, “Today, our prime minister goes to the White House to present a bowl like this with a green shamrock -- a green flower -- to the president of America.” He pointed to an ashtray on the desk. “We do it every year,” he added. Paul later impressed the participants with a pleasant surprise. Knowing it would be Douglas and Helen’s one-year wedding anniversary next month (it was actually the next day!), Paul had ordered a cake from the hotel and presented it to the couple. All customers joined the celebration, turning St Patrick’s Day into a double celebration. “I’ve never expected this and it is very special for me,” said Douglas.
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