St. Patrick's Day 2023 in Ireland

Saint Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland, and his feast day is March 17, as I'm sure you know. If you live in the United States, you probably think of garish outfits and green foods and drinks and a lot of partying. It's not terribly different here, though I don't recall any green foods besides pastries. In fact, the costumes here are better, and nobody is embarrassed about donning even the most ridiculous pieces. Plus, it's a bank holiday!

My favorite costumes are the Saint Patrick costumes, with their tall bishop's hats and robes and often even a staff. You see every possibly shape of hat here in the colors of the Ireland flag, and many hats have attached red hair. A lot of people wear fake beards, mustaches and even eyebrows in that festive copper hue. Faces are painted, hair is dyed, shamrocks abound (but NEVER a four-leaf clover here!), and everyone pulls out their brightest green, white, and orange.

I've heard of a clown car, but never a leprechaun car

A tractor pulling a castle

I shared some pictures from the 2022 St. Patrick's Day parade in my town last year. This year I marched in it! Well, my daughter's sewing school marched, and I accompanied. We were near the front, so all the spectators were very energetic as we passed. We missed the bagpipes because they were too close behind us, but we got to see the rest of the parade as we wound our way through the crowd to our waiting family.

Bagpipes

If you get the chance to spend St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, don't pass it up. There are parades all over the country (you could even watch more than one!), and everything is swathed in vibrant decorations. Yes, it's busy, but it's so much fun!