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Finnish-Irish Society
- a cultural centre for Ireland
in Finland
  Finland
is a country for societies. It seems that every Finn is a member
of several of them. One form of societies is friendship societies,
whose aim is to promote another country in Finland and vice versa.
One of the most active of these societies is the Finnish-Irish Society.
The
Society was founded in 1954 by a group of Finns, who had a love
for Ireland and an aim to tell about this country to their fellow
Finns. The First chairman was the Consul of Ireland Carl C. Slotte
and other founder members were e.g. poet Aale Tynni and folklorist
Kustaa Vilkuna. The society was quite small in the beginning, but
did a good job in promoting Ireland in Finland. In the beginning
of 60's it arranged a visit by Micheal MacLiammoir, who performed
his famous show, The Importance of Being Oscar, in Helsinki.
The
Society started getting bigger in the 70's after more Finns had
made trips to Ireland in their holidays and the influence of Irish
traditional music and literature was the reason to join for many.
A younger generation joined in the 80's, especially because they
loved U2 and wanted to know more about their home country. Another
reason to join was the Finnish top band Dingo, whose singer Neumann
has a great love for Ireland and always mentioned it in his interviews.
The
new era for the Finnish-Irish Society started, when it arranged
the first Irish Festival in Finland in September 1986. The idea
came from a Dublin-man based in Helsinki, Harry Bent, who is an
architect and a musician. He had been in Irish Festivals in Stockholm
and Copenhagen and suggested to arrange one in Finland.
From
a modest beginning of two small concerts and sessions in Helsinki
and two concerts in other cities, the festival has grown into probably
the biggest of its kind in Europe outside Ireland and the U.K. In
1999 the festival had 50 concerts in 20 towns and cities all over
Finland. The festival is also widely covered in the media and well-
known Irish artists are very willing to perform on it. The festival
is mainly concentrating on Irish music, especially traditional,
but it has also featured exhibitions on art, architecture and folklore
and in 1991 Eamon Morrissey performed his Joyce men -show in Helsinki,
Turku and Tampere.
The
artists who, have performed on the festival include Dé Dannan,
Mary Bergin, The Chieftains, Patrick Street, The Dubliners, Donal
Lunny & Liam O'Flynn, Altan, Something Happens!, Christy Moore,
Davy Spillane Band, Arcady, Meristem, Mary Black, Kieran Halpin,
Sharon Shannon, Four Men and a Dog, Vinnie Kilduff & Gerry O'Connor,
Reeltime, The Pale, Jimmy MacCarthy,The Chanting House, Dervish,
Darthan, The Bringing It All Back Home Tour, Speranza, Flax in Bloom,
Seán Keane, Paul Tiernan, Anam, Clár Bog Déil,
The Screaming Orphans, Nomos, Liam O'Flynn and the Given Note Band,
Susan McKeown and the Chanting House, Gerry O'Connor & Manus
Lunny, Puca, Planxty O'Rourke, Leslie Dowdall, Samhain, Calando,
Maire Breatnach, Mary Coughlan, Ronnie Drew, Eleanor Shanley and
Shinook.
Apart
from artists from Ireland, the festival has also featured groups
from Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia. The festival program
has also included workshops and school concerts.
The
Finnish Irish Society has also hosted many well known Irishmen including
Tim Pat Coogan and Roddy Doyle. The Finnish-Irish Society has arranged
three Irish Film Festivals in 1990, 1991 and 1994. These festivals
have been visited by film directors Jim Sheridan, Pat O'Connor and
Joe Comerford. The Finnish-Irish Society also publishes a magazine
called Shamrock, which comes out 2-4 times a year. The Society also
arranges trips to Ireland, workshops on Irish dancing and tin whistle
playing and many other activities.
The
Society has at the moment ca. 500 members and new members are joining
almost daily. TheSociety is also in contact with Irish-Finnish Society
in Dublin and it is very much involved with arranging the Irish
Festival. The activities of the Finnish-Irish Society have been
recognized in the Cultural agreement between Finland and Ireland
and it has received grants from the Cultural Relations Committee
of The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in and the Finnish Ministry
of Education.
up
Suomi-Irlanti -seura
Seura
on perustettu v. 1954, ja täytti siis 50 vuotta
viime vuonna. Seuran tarkoituksena on tehdä tunnetuksi
irlantilaista kulttuuria, historiaa ja nykypäivää.
Seuralla on n. 1000 jäsentä.
Vuosittain
järjestettäviä tapahtumia ovat esimerkiksi St. Patrick's
Day 17.3. sekä irlantilaisen kirjallisuuden ja kulttuurin päivä
Bloomsday 16.6.
Suomi-Irlanti -seuran vuonna 1986 ensimmäisen kerran Helsingissä
järjestämä Irish Festival in Finland on laajentunut
Suomessa jo seitsemälletoista paikkakunnalle. Se on myös
Manner-Euroopan suurin irlantilaisen musiikin tapahtuma.
Seuran
jäsenlehti on nimeltään Shamrock. Näillä sivuilla on julkaistu joitakin artikkeleita vanhoista Shamrockeista, joukossa mm. seuran perustajajäsenen akateemikko Aale Tynni-Haavion muistoja Irlannista ja Irlanti-seurasta.
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