A few years ago I decided to take my son and son-in-law to Ireland
for St. Patrick’s Day. We were going to have the time of our lives and we
actually did. However, there is a story behind all of this that made this a
memorable trip.
The signs were all there. On the way to Dublin we had a layover in
Chicago and when the plane left O’Hare we had picked up a marching band from
either a university or high school in the area. The plane was full of Americans
anxious to experience St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. I have Irish friends in Dublin and when I asked them
if they were going to the parade they said “Why would I want to do that?”
Easter was early that year and we were going to have St. Patrick’s Day and
Easter in the same week. All this made for an interesting trip.
To make one thing clear, the Irish have a lot of churches and
pubs. Religion and drinking have priority over all else. Because of that, St.
Patrick’s Day was moved due to the fact that it was too close to Good Friday. When
I asked my friends what they were doing on St. Patrick’s Day, since they were
not going to the parade, they replied that they were going to the pubs. I
learned that on Good Friday the pubs close at midnight and don’t open until the
next day at midnight. Could this be a crisis for a country that loves to drink
like the Irish? Not really. On the Thursday before Good Friday they go to the
store and load up on alcohol to get them through the day. They then go to the
pubs until they close at midnight. No problem, they have plenty to drink at
home. At midnight the next day they are lined up at their favorite pubs waiting
for them to open. Most pubs are open until 4am so that gives them 4 hours of
pub drinking to get in.
Now getting back to St. Patrick’s Day.
The morning of the parade we got up early, had an Irish Breakfast
and made our way to the parade walking along Grafton Street. Along the way we
met mostly tourists dressed in green and also walking to where they can watch
the parade. By the time we got to the parade route it was already filling up
but we were able to find a spot up front. Watching the parade we saw the
marching band that we picked up in Chicago. We then also saw one marching band
after another from the US. I want to say
the parade is not just marching bands from America and it does have an Irish flare
at times. There were other parts that reminded me of a Mardi Graz parade. The
parade went on forever and soon we all came to the conclusion that being in a
pub made a lot of sense. We called my friend Shane and hooked up with him in a
pub close by. I would still recommend going to the parade if you are in Dublin
for the experience. Shane told me that as a child he would go to the parade but
as he got older going to the pub was more fun. Everyone should experience the
parade as Shane did when he was a child but after you see it once that’s enough
for me.
The pubs for me were where I really felt the St. Patrick’s Day
experience. The Irish are all friendly and most pubs have a carvery for food and
live music. We jumped from pub to pub all day and met some really great people,
listened to fantastic live Irish music and ate traditional Irish fare. Shane
was able to take us to his favorite pubs where there were mainly locals there.
All in all it was an experience of a lifetime that everyone should
do as is Oktoberfest and other festivals around the world. Why not plan your
next vacation around one of those festival or holidays.
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