Win tickets for the London Irish St Patrick’s Day Party

London Irish face Northampton Saints this coming Saturday at the Brentford Community Stadium but it will be more than a rugby match.

The Exiles are laying on a whole day of entertainment as part of a St Patrick’s Day event. There will be music and drinking and a giant inflatable obstacle course for the children and probably later the adults who have been involved in the music and the drinking.

The Exiles are hoping to break their attendance record for what has been a regular fixture in the rugby calendar since 2001.

However this one will be unique. It is the first time with fans at the Brentford Community Stadium. The party was canceled entirely two years ago and the match was played behind-closed-doors leading to virtual celebrations last year.

Live bands and Irish dancers will perform around the pitch before and after the match, with prizes, described by club PR as “epic” on offer, via the half-time competition and the London Irish Lotto.

The Exiles; London Irish, London Welsh, London Scottish and London Cornish are of course unique organisations compared to other clubs who just rely on their geographical location as their identity. They rely on people living in London still feeling some sort of attachment to their home country.

But as the sport progressed into the professional era, it was Irish who above all prospered. They now are an established part of the Gallagher Premiership with a very competitive side led by skipper Paddy Jackson.

Declan Danaher is someone who knows what it means to be a London Irishman.

He played 275 times for the Exiles and is currently defence coach for the side. The archetypal London Irishman having been born in London, Danaher represented Ireland at U19 level and England at U21 level.

In 2002, a decade before he was made captain, he was part of the London Irish team that beat Saturday’s opponents Northampton Saints in the Powergen Cup Final. At the time, he said:

“London Irish means the world to me and I will endeavour to make sure that I don’t let the boys or the London Irish family down.”

Although now an older and wiser man, he has not lost his enthusiasm for the club, the ‘family’ and all it represents. You can sense his excitement when he told Prost International:

“I think there’s that opportunity to play in front of, hopefully, a rocking Brentford Community Stadium and go out and do your stuff.

“So, on days like this, many things combine, and there are people like us, other staff and former players who always feed it into the playing group, so they understand what it means to play in this game.

“There is also a lot of guys there who would have played in previous St. Patricks Party fixtures, and I’m sure they’ll be making sure that the lads know what it’s about. There’s always a really good buzz ahead of these games.”

One in three Irish-born people living in the UK lives in London which comes to approximtely 110,000 people depending on the source and whether you count those from Northern Ireland.

Caroline Regan is a London Irish fan and a musician. Her band consists of herself, Caroline Nolan (flute) and Liam Nolan (banjo).

Caroline Regan: London Irish is a great way of expressing your Irishness while also being a Londoner

Liam and the Carolines (not their actual band name) will be playing from midday to 1.30pm. She took time out from her trad sessiom at the Sir Colin Campbell pub in KIlburn and told Prost:

“I support London Irish. I was born in London but my family are Irish. They’re the team I support. I went to university at St Marys in Twickenham. I got into the rugby there and started supporting London Irish.

“Even when they went out to Reading, I went out there to watch them. I’m looking forward to the match next week now they’re at Brentford.

“It’s great to have an affiliation with the identity of being London Irish as there’s a great community in London of first, second and third generation Irish whose parents or grandparent came over. I think a lot of the second generatiom feel very proud of their Irish roots and history.

“Supporting the London Irish team is a way of being able to express that Irishness while also being a Londoner.”

In cooperation with London Irish, Prost International has two free tickets for the St Paddys Day Party in its first ever competition.

To enter, just follow Prost International on twitter and you will be entered into a draw. If you already follow us, send us a DM to enter the draw. If you’re not on twitter, please just use the comments function below this article to enter.

Winners will be informed after 1pm on Friday when we will close the draw.

Tickets are also on sale from £25 for adults and £10 for kids, with a special group package available in the West and East Stands offering four tickets for just £50.

Also see: London Irish Network

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