A St. Patrick's Day party or celebration wouldn't be the same without a generous helping of Irish music to liven the festivities. And thanks to podcasting, you can get plenty of Irish and Celtic music for free on the Internet, from traditional to contemporary, New Age to Irish rock.

Here are a few choice podcasts that play full-length tunes, great for dancing to or just for listening. All are available through iTunes and other podcast programs, or at the Web sites linked to below.

Cleveland Celtic Podcast: You wouldn't necessarily associate Cleveland, Ohio with Celtic music, but there's an active music community there, as this podcast attests. The podcast plays Celtic rock and Celtic contemporary music from all over the world, including points far beyond Ohio.

Irish and Celtic Music Podcast: This podcast features interviews and songs covering different types of Irish and Celtic influenced music, with an emphasis on independent artists.You'll find ballads and uptempo rock-influenced tunes, Scottish folk songs, a bit of bagpipes, and definitely some drinking songs.

Pub Song Podcast: If you want to head straight for the drinking songs, this is the place to go. Brought to you by the host of the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast, it features pub songs from Irish, Celtic, and non-Celtic traditions. The songs are lively and fun, and sometimes just reading the titles will give you a chuckle.

Irish Music Podcast: Here's a different kind of Irish podcast. from three musicians who call themselves "The shock jocks of Irish and Celtic Music" The podcast features three or four songs from traditional and non-traditional bands, plus "plenty of pints and ranting."

A St. Patrick's Day note: The informal name of the day is St. Paddy's Day, not "Patty's." It's from "Padraig," the Irish form of the name Patrick. (After all, if you had a friend named Patrick, you might call him Patrick, or Pat, or even The Patmeister, but never "Patty"!)