St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland has always been a “must thing” to do on my bucket list, and for 2013, I was able to cross this experience off my bucket list with a Guinness in my hand, and an Irish crowd cheering on a great day in Dublin!
Back home in Canada, there is a tradition that we do on St. Patrick’s Day. This tradition begins with a pancake kegger that commences early in the morning and consists of a glorious amount of green-coloured pancakes (sometimes shaped like four-leaf clovers if you’re lucky) and lots of green-coloured beer. This is our breakfast for St. Patrick’s Day.
Sounds grand, doesn’t it?
This year, we brought this tradition to Dublin and we began operation “pancake kegger” at 10:00 am on the morning of St. Patrick’s Day. What made the day even better was the fact that we had so many people from my university back home at this pancake kegger, including my best friend Savannah, who you may recall from my trip to Oktoberfest in Germany this past year. Last year, Savannah and I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day together in Canada, and this year we were able to spend the green-filled day in Ireland together. It’s now our yearly tradition!
LET THE PANCAKE KEGGER COMMENCE!
Sorry, got a bit too excited there…
Ireland ran out of green food colouring, so none of our pancakes was green, but we decided to just add extra chocolate chips in them, and oh boy… were they delicious! Savannah made the best pancakes I have ever had! They also went down amazingly with beer and wine. This was a great start to the morning!
After a few green shots here, and a couple of fake green tattoo’s there, we all made our way to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin! As I walked through Trinity College to the et to parade, all I could think about was “Wow, you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland… I’m so lucky to be here and alive”.
Once we got to the parade, all you can see is 50 shades of green throughout the enormous crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people jam-packed together in a street, let alone Dublin, in my life. Everyone had big smiles on their faces and eager to see the parade! I don’t really remember much of the parade – all I can remember is feeling the energy of the crowd and how amazing it was to be in this moment with my friends talking, drinking, singing, etc.
SO MANY PEOPLE, SO MUCH GREEN! THE STREETS OF DUBLIN WAS CRAYCRAY.
After the 2 hour-long parade, we headed back to my friend’s place where we either continued to drink, eat or nap (as you do mid-way through St. Patrick’s day). Afterwards, we all got refreshed and started to get ready to hit the city nightlife hard. Savannah, Jenn and I ended up touring the streets of Dublin for a bit and then ended up in this Irish pub called “The Duke” with barely any tourists, and had the real authentic Irish experience! It’s great that I have a friend who’s a local in Dublin and knows where the best places to go!
In the end, silly drunk Ryan thought to further this Irish experience he would try some Irish whiskey… Ryan had been drinking since 10:00 am and finishing the night off with whisky was a no-no. Silly Ryan. Oh well! Overall, Ryan and Savannah had an amazing time in Dublin and had a spectacle St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. There’s something I can finally cross off my bucket list! I recommend that anyone and everyone who has thought about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland…. DO IT! It was one of the best days of my life! If I were to come back for St. Patrick’s Day again, I would definitely go to a smaller city/town in Ireland, such as Cork or Galway, because there would be fewer tourists and more Irish locals that would be willing to show tourists a good time!
Until next time….
Check out my bucketlist!
Coming To Dublin? Check out my post here.
Want to see where I’ve been in Ireland & get inspired by the beauty of this green country? Click here
Ryan Thomas Woods is the voice behind Out With Ryan. He’s an LGBTQ+ Activist & Travel writer for this website and many other publications. He was recently voted 2018’s Travel Influencer of Year in Canada and dedicated the award to all LGBTQ+ travelers making the world a better & safer space for our community, as he strives to do on his website & social platforms.
great post! I learned a lot from here.
I’m going to Dublin in March. My first solo Euro trip!