St. Patrick famously used the humble shamrock (snapped above by jmcarthy99) to explain the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) to the Pagan Irish.
We have a different use for it on St. Patrick’s Day, floating a leaf of the plant in a glass of whiskey before downing it. Alternatively, you drown the cluster of shamrock you’ve been wearing on your lapel in your final pint of Guinness of the night.
We’ve rounded up the 17 best cities in the world where the locals celebrate their (version of) Irishness around March 17.
Dublin, Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day marks the start of the tourist season in Ireland. There’ll still (probably) be goose-pimpled flesh and (possibly) biting winds, but Dublin is at the beating heart of this near-global day.
St. Patrick’s Day used to be a mass-parade-pub affair, but it’s been a mega four or five-day festival since the 1990s. This year’s is on March 14-17 and the events – ceilis, concerts, walking tours, funfairs, art exhibitions and storytelling sessions – culminate in the parade that winds its way from Parnell Square to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Joining 73 landmarks around the world that’ll go green around St. Patrick’s Day, Dublin’s most impressive buildings – such as Trinity College Dublin, Leinster House, The GPO, the Bank of Ireland on College Green and the Custom House – will go Kelly Green once the sun goes down.
London, England
On Sunday, March 16, the stately Landseer lions that guard Trafalgar Square will be joined by more than 100,000 Hibernophiles. Of course, the fountain that stands in the Square will go green.
Between midday and 6pm the best of Irish music, song, dance, culture, food and arts will be showcased in the centre of London.
There’s a parade too that leaves the top of Piccadilly by Green Park at noon and features colourful floats, marching bands from across the UK, sports clubs and Irish dancing schools; this year’s theme is World of Dance.
Boston, USA
About one million celebrants flock to South Boston each year and new Mayor Martin J. Walsh may be there too, as talks continue regarding the two-decade ban on gay organisations. It was in Boston that Saint Patrick’s Day was first observed (by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston if you’re wondering) but New York got in there first, holding a parade in 1762. It’s the second-largest parade in the US though (again, New York is in first place).
Along with the marching bands, colourful floats, Irish dancers, Veterans, St. Patricks, stormtroopers and Darth Vadars that skip along the sea of green from West Broadway to Dorchester Avenue on March 16, there’s a 5k road race and plenty of Craic Agus Ceol (fun and music) and a plethora of Irish pubs to have it in.
Note: March 17 is also Evacuation Day, which marks the time following the Siege of Boston in the American Revolutionary War, when the British forces were evacuated from the city of Boston.
New York, USA
The world’s oldest and largest parade is run entirely by volunteers. Some families have been volunteering, turning a stretch of New York green, for generations.
There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York since March 17, 1762. Although the day has become synonymous with exuberant, alcohol-fuelled shenanigans, there’s no drinking allowed along the parade route: 5th Avenue between 44th Street and 79th Street.
There’s also a ban on gay rights groups or marchers with gay-pride signs so the St Pat’s For All parade in Queens, now in its 15th year, is another option.
Chicago, USA
There are several miracles associated with St. Patrick. He converted the Pagan Irish to Christianity, brought people back from the dead (and a horse and some mad cows, owned by his aunt). The greatest, of course, was driving the snakes out of Ireland. So it makes sense that a river might miraculously turn green for a few hours on March 17.
This year, with a little bit of help from the local plumbers union, the Chicago River will magically turn green on March 15 at 10am. The Parade route starts at the corner of Columbus Drive and Balbo then meanders North to Monroe.
In another Chicago-inspired miracle, the White House fountains in Washington DC flow green. The link? Michelle Obama, a Chicagoan.
Birmingham, England
There’s New York and Dublin and the third-biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world is said to be in … Birmingham. On March 16, there’ll be a mega celebration of Irish culture with the theme of “Irish Myths and Legends”.
Birmingham’s Irish community can trace its routes back to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s and it has the only Irish Quarter in the UK, centred on Digbeth. St. Patrick’s Day really is a three-week affair in this part of the UK.
There are diverse events such as storytelling and music sessions, a Gaelic Camogie tournament, a race night, an ale festival, a film night and a flower festival.
Montreal, Canada
As one of the founding groups of Montreal, the Irish have always had their place in the Francophone city. The parade is on Sunday, March 16 (the 191st consecutive parade starts from the corner of du Fort St. at noon and marches east as far as Phillips Square), but the United Irish Societies of Montreal start to celebrate in February by raising the Irish community flag outside Place Ville Marie. There’s a Mass of Anticipation in early March and an Awards Banquet at the end of the month puts a seal on the season.
Partner pubs are a roll call of pure Irishness – Hurley’s Irish Pub, McKibbin’s Pub, Kelly’s Pub, Old Dublin Pub and Duffy’s Pub – and serve coffee and breakfast before the parade and thousands of pints of the black stuff afterwards.
Toronto, Canada
Half a million spectators wearing some little shred of green line the parade route between Bloor Street and Queen Street at Nathan Philips Square. The Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a festival of St. Patrick, Ireland and Canada and multiculturalism.
There are colourful, spectacular floats from a variety of cultural groups. 2013’s parade featured 70 marching sections and 28 bands. This year, the 27th annual parade, there’ll be an Olympic gold medallist Grand Marshal (Katie Taylor, a boxer – the current Irish, European, World and Olympic Champion), dancers from the Native Canadian Centre and marchers from Scouts Canada.
The Toronto festivities have some heavyweight sponsors including Aer Lingus, Jump into Ireland and McDonald’s which might be a popular place to wind up after the St.Patrick’s Day Club/Pub Crawl on March 15.
Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Tourism Ireland
Cape Town, South Africa
In its newish tradition of greening the world Tourism Ireland illuminates Table Mountain, that iconic landmark that overlooks the city of Cape Town.
Cape Town doesn’t have a huge Irish community (although there is an Irish South African Association) and there’s no parade, yet, but there are plenty of Irish pubs that’ll lay on music and Guinness-infused foods, paint faces and serve green beer.
The V&A Waterfront looks set to celebrate with free, festive events such as concerts and dancing.
Moscow, Russia
It’s 2,800km east of Ireland, but Moscow will be channelling its inner Irish person for more than a few hours on March 16.
In Gorky Park (on March 16) there’ll be a parade in honour of St. Patrick’s Day. It’ll last two hours – midday to 2pm – but the parade is just part of the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. They span March 13-24.
The “Ticket to Dublin” Music Festival is on March 22–23 featuring The Walls, Mundy, Delorentos and We Cut Corners. There’s the MIC (Moscow Irish Comedy) Festival, a mixed-arts festival with a “seanchai” (a storyteller) telling stories all night long, and the Moscow Irish Film Festival will screen more than 40 films.
Tokyo, Japan
The 22nd Tokyo St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on March 16 in the Harajuku area. It’s Asia’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parade and, thanks to time zones, will be the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the Northern Hemisphere.
It’s also a riot of colour and ceremony, as you’d expect from Harajuku, the theatrical and wild fashion district, with marching red setters, bagpipers, giant inflatable pints of Guinness and a plethora of participants, some of whom are dressed as samurai warriors, complete with swords.
Organised by the Irish Network Japan, it starts at 1pm.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul may be more synonymous with Psy and Gangnam Style than St. Patrick, but the Irish Association of Korea has been throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party since the start of the millennium. The 14th annual St Patrick’s Day Festival will take place in D Cube Plaza, Sindorim on Saturday, March 15 (12-6pm).
About 10,000 spectators will attend, drinking in the Irish music, folk-dancing, storytelling and Gaelic football displays. The Irish Village will showcase Irish cuisine and traditional music too. After the festival, the Official IAK Hooley will take place in the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon from 6pm until 12am.
Montserrat, Caribbean
Montserrat, a lush little island in the Caribbean is also nicknamed the Emerald Isle. That’s where the similarity to the other Emerald Isle ends. Looking at temperature and rainfall, Montserrat enjoys a balmy 17-degree average temperature with about 400mm of rain each year. In Ireland, the average temperature is 10 degrees and average annual rainfall can be in the region of 1400mm.
It has a strong Irish heritage however (in the 17th century Irish Catholics, persecuted on other Caribbean islands, found a welcome on Montserrat. These same Irish Catholics had originally been banished from Ireland by Oliver Cromwell.) and it’s the only country outside Ireland where St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday.
There’s a week-long St. Patrick’s Festival (March 9-18), which is a fun Irish-African-Caribbean fusion and one of Montserrat’s most popular annual events. There’s a Freedom Run and the Masqueraders (masked street dancers) will dance and prance to the sound of fife and drum.
Munich, Germany
It’s fitting that the home of Oktoberfest should have a rocking St. Patrick’s Day party too. There’s been a parade in Munich since the mid-1990s. A joyous, peaceful parade with an electric atmosphere on March 16, it’ll be preceded by an Irish Mass at St. Michael’s Church and a big night out. The parade from Münchner Freiheit to Odeonsplatz might be a great way of walking off the previous night’s revelries. The After Parade Party at Odeonsplatz will have music and dance displays on two stages.
Sponsors of the Munich events are a Who’s Who of Irish industry and endeavour such as Guinness, Jameson and Tayto. Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, has a hand in it too.
Bologna, Italy
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is another landmark that’ll go green on St. Patrick’s Day, but 200km away, in Bologna, they’re having an Irish festival – Irlanda in Festa – which runs for several days, attracts about 30,000 Hibernophiles and culminates on March 17 in an extravangza of good cheer and green beer.
The Italians and the Irish have much in common. There’s the shared Catholic faith and a deep and abiding love of the good life. Irish chefs will prepare some classic Irish dishes and to wash them down, the Palanord, a brewery, will serve Guinness from St. James’s Gate, Harp and Kilkenny red. There’ll be an international boxing match and a darts tournament.
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
The St. Patrick’s Day Festivities in New Orleans span March 13-23. The city’s Irish heritage stretches back to the 1840s and in the home of Mardi Gras St. Patrick’s Day is done a touch differently.
It’s the only parade where you can leave with the ingredients for a traditional Irish meal. During the Metairie Road St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the largest of the parades, float riders chuck green beads and trinkets for the spectators to catch.
They also pass down potatoes, carrots, cabbages, onions and seasonings for an Irish stew. We don’t know if mutton is distributed however.
The annual Metairie Road St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place from 11am until around 3pm on March 16. There are six parades in total and festivities are spread throughout the Greater New Orleans Area including Jefferson Parish, the French Quarter and the Irish Channel.
Sydney, Australia
St. Patrick’s Day in Australia has sombre origins. Sombre, but probably not sober. It was first marked on March 17 1810 when Lachlan Macquarie, the Governor of New South Wales, provided entertainment for the Irish convict workers.
With up to 30 per cent of Australians claiming Irish ancestry, St. Patrick’s Day is a family-friendly and, after dark, a raucous affair.
The St. Patrick’s Day parade that starts (at midday) on Bathurst Street and ends at James Street is the largest Irish event in the Southern Hemisphere. There’ll be pre-parade entertainment opposite the Town Hall from 10.30am and the Family Day in Hyde Park North will start at 1pm.
For after-dark fun, when the Opera House will turn green (as part of the global greening) pubs such as The Mercantile, Paddy Maguires and P.J.O’Brien’s will cater to the masses.
