E livioù Sant-Padrig

Celebrating St Patrick's Day

Quimperlé les rias, a naturally inspiring destination
Saint Patrick’s Day in South Finistère

On the 17th of March, it's St Patrick's Day! To mark the occasion, people dress up in green, wear leprechaun hats and try Irish specialities... In South Finistère, Quimperlé is no exception... Indeed, eight of our towns are twinned with Irish towns, so there's no question of missing out on this event!

With shows, concerts, festivals, bars and pubs, it's a day to get together and dance to the rhythms of the traditional Irish dance!

Traditional Irish dancing: tap or clog?

St Patrick's Day in Ireland also means traditional Irish dance performances. To mark the occasion, Maëlyss Gérot, a young woman from Moëlan-sur-Mer, tells us about her journey.

A traditional practice coming back into fashion

Maëlyss Gérot is just 18 years old, and has already managed to secure her place at the World Irish Dancing Championships in Glasgow.

It has to be said that, since the age of 3, Maëlyss has almost always had ballet slippers on her feet: after various introductory dance classes, she began hip hop, modern jazz and street jazz... And not for nothing, her grandmother was a ballet dancer, who now practices American tap. She was also a volunteer at the Air d'Eire Irish music and dance association in Quéven, where she gave classes. So it's a real family affair!

La moelanaise Maëlyss Gérot pratique la danse depuis ses 3 ans.

It was at the age of 10 that she finally turned to Irish tap after an introductory course with Mathilde Rio in Malguénac. Progressing rapidly, Maëlyss reached the highest level of difficulty in Irish dance competitions in 2021.

That's when she launched herself into the qualifying competitions for the world championships. After failing to finish at the foot of the podium in Munich and Aix-en-Provence, she finished in 4th place in Dubai in November 2023 and qualified for the 2024 world championships. The result of a lot of hard work, since she moved to Nantes to train 3 times a week with Mathilde Rio!

Maëlyss is looking forward to taking part in the world championships and putting on a spectacular show to give her first-hand experience of the stage. Above all, she wants to surpass herself and get closer to her plans to continue her studies in Irish dance in Ireland, and then join a major Irish dance troupe.

But what she loves most of all are the people she meets, the shows and demonstrations she puts on. In the future, she would like to return to France to set up her own school and pass on her passion for dance...

Where can you see Maëlyss perform?

In the Quimperlé area...

On the 16th of March in Moëlan-sur-Mer at l’Ellipse at 8.30pm

But also in Morbihan...

The 15th of March in Lorient at The WestPort Inn at 9.30pm
The 17th of March in Lorient at the Galway Inn at 9pm

She also offers dance classes with the Air d'Eire association in Quéven once a month, and is happy to respond to any requests! Contact : 06 25 50 12 05 - maelyss.kaly29@gmail.com - Instagram - Facebook

Beers from Finistère

Our region is overflowing with resources, and one of them is beer, which has become an integral part of the South Finistère landscape. In Bannalec and Locunolé, Aurélien from Brasserie de l'Imprimerie and Nicolas from La Marée Bras talk to us about their trade and their beers...

La Brasserie de l’Imprimerie, « From ink to bitter »

This catchphrase didn't come out of the hat of Aurélien Picard from Bannalec! In 2016, he bought the premises of his future brewery, which is none other than the former regional printing works.

As a singer, composer and guitarist, what attracted him at first sight was the link between the artistic and craft worlds: from music to cooking, the same technique is used.

Aurélien offers a range of 11 permanent beers, as well as a few ephemeral brews. You can find them in bars, restaurants and wine shops between Quimper and Lorient, or on direct sale from Tuesday to Friday from 4pm to 8pm and on Saturday from 10am to 1pm. There's also a tattoo parlour and a "paysans solidaires" depot on site.

Aurélien Picard, fondateur de la Brasserie de l'Imprimerie à Bannalec dans le Finistère Sud.

«We start by developing a recipe, then we try things out, taste, refine and re-refine and, once we're happy with the taste, we produce! It's the same way you build a piece of music!»

– Aurélien Picard

Events in March :

Tuesday, the 12 : Musical jam session
Friday, the 15th : Quimperlé Purple Brein brass band
Friday, the 22nd : Kino screening - showing of no-budget short films
Thursday, the 28th : Dirty Deep in concert!

La Marée Brasse

Straight from Haute-Savoie, Nicolas Abry has settled in the Locunolé's countryside, 10 kilometres away from Quimperlé! Arriving in 2020, he set up his brasserie in an annex that was used as a dance hall in the 1950s.

He produces beers to his own taste, known as spontaneous fermentation beers, which he compares to Gueuze and Lambig. In fact, one of his fruity beers, La Sureau, won a silver medal in this category at the Concours International de Lyon in 2023.

Unlike traditional beers, the fermentation process takes place in barrels and lasts from 1 to 3 years. This is why Nicolas's beers are not very bitter: bitterness changes with time, light and heat. So he chooses less bitter hops and concentrates on their preservative aspects. He explains that after a year, the alcoholic strength has already been reached, at which point it can be bottled, or mixed with fruit.

Nicolas Abry, fondateur de la Brasserie La Marée Bras à Locunolé dans le Finistère Sud.

«These are very special beers, which don't taste at all like our usual beers. If you want to buy one, you have to taste it first.»

– Nicolas Abry

Nicolas offers tastings of his beers on site, but they are also available from Breton wine merchants and the Tourist Office (Quimperlé, Clohars-Carnoët and Moëlan-sur-Mer).

Twinnigs

Bannalec : Castleisland
Clohars-Carnoët : Dunmore
Mellac : Templeorum
Moëlan-sur-Mer : Louisburgh
Querrien : Dunmore
Quimperlé : Athenry
Scaër : Monivea
Saint-Thurien : Cillmacown

Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, and should be consumed in moderation.

Irish dance
Brasserie de l'Imprimerie
La Marée Bras
Twinnigs