On this day Ireland, but also the entire Irish or non-Irish world community sees green! Lá Fhéile Pádraig or rather St. Patrick’s Day is the day of remembrance of the Irish bishop Patrick, who probably lived in the 5th century and was said to be the first Christian missionary in Ireland. As the saint is considered to be the patron of Ireland, he’s hugely celebrated on the 17th of March each year in Ireland, but also in other countries of the world, e.g. in America. Each larger town organizes a big, colorful parade – a bit like carnival in Germany. This tradition even stumbled into Munich! Dublin, New York and Manchester host one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades ever. In some cities, e.g. in Chicago, even the rivers are being dyed green that day! It certainly can be argued about, whether this is ecologically good or not.
Anyway, we spent our first St. Patrick’s Day in our favorite city Galway. Unfortunately, we almost missed the whole parade because it was much shorter than planned in the program. So we only saw the end, but we’re not such fans of parades anyway. However, we were able to capture a few impressions. It’s great to watch when all people wear something green. Of course, we made no exception and wore the Irish tie and the goblin fascinator, we were given as a goodbye gift from our Berlin friends, with joy. 🙂 Over the next 6 hours, we squeezed through the crowds from pub to pub to enjoy a few pints of Guiness and Cider, and to watch and enjoy the colorful (well, rather green) hustle and bustle in the streets of Galway. As a crowning finale next year we want go to Dublin, “where the craic is mighty”, to witness the biggest St. Patrick’s Day party ever.
Here are some snapshots from “Paddy’s Day” in Galway…
