Ireland held a series of events last week in celebration of their national day St Patrick’s Day marked on March 17.

Part of the celebrations, organised by the Embassy of Ireland, included a concert of Irish music and song, poetry and drumming on March 14 at the Michael Joseph Centre in Nairobi.

The concert celebrated traditional Irish and Kenyan music. Dublin-based group Coille (which means forest in Gaelic), made up of four young Irish musicians, came to Kenya for the celebrations.

The members are Darragh Fadden (flute), Luc O’Ciardhubhain (whistle, guitar and vocals), David Joyce (banjo) and Mike Mansfield (mandolin, guitar and vocals).

Darragh said it was their first time to visit Kenya. “We’re really happy to be here and play in Nairobi. We’ll also be performing at other venues, including at a school.”

Mike explained how he plays the banjo plucking it like a guitar, as well as a fiddle with a bow.

They performed jigs, reels and polkas that got some of the audience dancing. One of the songs they sang was an old favourite taught in schools in Ireland, and the audience joyfully joined in.

Another performer at the concert was Kenyan poet Mufasa. He said he started writing poetry while still in high school in the Rift Valley region where he grew up.

“I learnt about poetry in school, and liked it. I used to write love letters for my friends. I improved my skills by watching spoken word performers on YouTube, and now I teach upcoming poets through the Slam Poetry Africa events.”

The poems he performed spoke of a call to unity in the country, as well as romantic love.

The third group of performers were the Slum Drummers. They are a community-based organisation from Waithaka area in Nairobi.

Six men and one woman presented several vibrant performances beating and pounding on instruments made of recycled materials like plastic water drums and pipes to make unique sounds.

The highlight of the evening was a joint performance by the drummers and Coille, perfectly in tune and keeping to a quick beat, creatively demonstrating the universality of music.