5 reasons to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland

Guinness, parades, pub-crawling (literally at times), friendly people, and more! Ireland is the home of St. Patrick and the Irish know how to put on a real show to celebrate. Read on to learn more about why Dublin, Ireland is the perfect place to spend St. Patrick’s Day! 

#1: History of St. Patrick’s Day

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St. Patrick’s Cathedral really lights up behind those crisp fall leaves. Happy first day of November! 🍂❤️🇮🇪 #dublinigers #igersdublin #lovedublin #dublindaily #picturethisdublin #lovindublin

A post shared by @bootsnotroots on Nov 1, 2016 at 1:09am PDT

St. Patrick’s Day was literally “born” in Ireland! Although St. Patrick himself was born in Britain, he was sent to Ireland to spread Christianity and is known as THE beloved patron Saint of Ireland. The “wear green” mentality came after the Irish rebellion in the late 1700s when the Irish sang “The Wearing of the Green” during the rebellion and the “beer-drinking” culture wasn’t introduced until after Budweiser (oh, America) pushed a marketing scheme around St. Patrick’s Day in the 20th century. Nowadays, we have the joy of watching people get sloshy while wearing green and taping orange beards onto their faces. 

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People of #saintpatricksday #dublin #dublincity #dublinigers #dublinstreets #igersdublin #lovindublin #visitdublin #ireland #irelandaily #ireland_gram #insta_ireland #visitireland #discoverireland #visitdublin #irelandaily #tourismireland #lovedublin #loves_ireland #igersdublingreen #huaweisnapys #snapPeople

A post shared by Edgar Allan (@mredgarallan) on Mar 17, 2016, at 11:32am PDT

#2: The Famous Parade

Living in Chicago (home of one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day festivals in America) prior to Dublin, I thought I had seen it all when it came to parades. While the parade itself in Dublin wasn’t nearly as massive as your traditional Macy’s Day parades in the states, it still had it’s fair share of fun. We saw floats with dragons, massive snakes, and even some boxers? We didn’t arrive super early and were still able to grab a sliver of the street that wasn’t too crazy in front of The Westin. If you wanted to go all out when visiting you should stay at The Westin and ask for a room with a view of the parade. 

Pro Tip: Check out the official St. Patrick’s Festival website for details on everything going on in the city. 

#3: The Contagious Irish Pride

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• Tonight, Win or Die trying •

A post shared by Giuseppe ER 📍Dublin | Ireland (@antppe) on Jun 22, 2016 at 11:22am PDT

Hands down my favorite part of living in Ireland is the people. Over the past year we have had the joy of experiencing the “Irish pride” first-hand from St. Patrick’s Day to the Euro 2016 finals. I have never met a group of people that are just so damn friendly. Even the world recognized their “winning” mentality at Euro 2016.http://web.archive.org/web/20180420015412if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sw31hv_jay4

Fortunately, St. Patrick’s Day brings out the same genuine pride and friendliness. My husband hates hates hates crowds. And, guess what?! He didn’t hate the parade in the city center of Dublin! Why, you ask? Because even with over half a million people lining the streets everyone was still smiling, laughing, and having an overall great time.

Pro Tip: Because of the friendly nature of the people, the parade tends to be pretty kid-friendly. 

St. Patrick's day in Dublin, Ireland is a must-do at least once in your life! See why in this guide to spending St. Patrick's day in beautiful Ireland.
Yes… we got photo-bombed. 🙂

#4: Guinness, Guinness, and more Guinness

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– Magic Scene – . That light just right there… . _____________________________________ #igersdublin #igersdublinstreets #huaweisnapys #lovedublin #lovindublin #visitdublin #tourismireland #guinnessstorehouse

A post shared by Giuseppe ER 📍Dublin | Ireland (@antppe) on Feb 11, 2016 at 12:04pm PST

When we first moved here the words “I don’t like Guinness” accidentally tumbled out of my mouth in a pub. Word to the wise: Don’t say that in an Irish pub in Ireland. You will instantly regret it. Literally every Irish man in the pub was explaining to me why the “black stuff” was different in Ireland and that it’s a sin to say you don’t like it. So, I tried it. And… I kind of liked it!

On St. Patrick’s Day you’ll find that the Guinness flows from around 9 a.m. till late into the evening at every single pub in the city. We headed to a pub around noon after enough fun at the parade and were even able to find a table despite being right off the main street.

Pro TipIf you’re looking for something a bit calmer and traditional, avoid Temple Bar and check out O’Donoghue’s Pub near St. Stephen’s Green. 

#5: The “Luck of the Irish”

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☘ “If you are lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough” #🇮🇪 #ProudtobeIrish #Photo by #Iger @eskandm #igersdublin #stpatricksday2016 #StPatricksDay #igersdublinGREEN #seemydublin #thisisdublin #instagramersdublin #instagramdublin #dublin #dublincity #ireland #thisisdublin #seemydublin #mydublin

A post shared by Instagramers Dublin (Official) (@igersdublin) on Mar 17, 2016 at 3:03pm PDT

Fun fact: The “Luck of the Irish” phrase was coined after many Irish and Irish-Americans struck gold during the gold and silver rush years in the US. But, I must say, the Irish nowadays are pretty lucky (after a pretty turbulent history). Happy people, beautiful scenery, and a slow easy-going way of life are commonplace here and it’s contagious. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to experience it first-hand this St. Patrick’s Day. May the “Luck of the Irish” be with you! 

Happy Trekking!

– Boots not Roots 

Suitcases and Sandcastles