Whether you’re Irish or not everyone enjoys celebrating St Patrick’s
Day as it’s renowned for being a cheerful and fun event wherever in the world
you’re celebrating it. But despite there being some excellent celebrations
around the world, surely the best place to go on St Patrick’s Day is Ireland
itself?!
Many towns and cities across Ireland have their own ways of celebrating St Patrick’s
Day, a national holiday in Ireland, but it’s only since 1995 that the government
established the St Patrick’s Festival with the aim of having a nationwide
festival that the Irish would be proud of, and so the St Patrick’s Festival
was born!
When and Where is the St Patrick’s Festival?
From the first festival in 1996, the capital city, Dublin has been at the centre
of the celebrations, and even though there’s still a spectacular parade in
Dublin (and many other Irish cities), over the last two years one of the highlights
of the festival, Skyfest, has happened in different locations.
In 2008 the Rock of Cashel, a castle in County Tipperary was home to Skyfest,
while in 2009 it was held in the beautiful city of Waterford.
This year Skyfest will be held in The Quays in Waterford City .
Another important piece of information is the dates. St Patrick’s Day itself is
always held on March 17 every year. Other towns and cities in Ireland will
have their own celebrations on March 17, but the Festival is nearly always held
on the weekend before and covers three or four days. Skyfest is usually held on
the Saturday of that weekend, so Skyfest 2010 will be held on Saturday the
14th of March.
There are plenty of
hotels in Waterford, but make sure that you reserve well in advance to avoid
disappointment. Combine your St Patrick’s Day
trip with some sightseeing as Ireland has plenty of wonderful scenery, culture,
and other attractions to visit, or just head to Dublin and enjoy the huge St Patrick’s
Festival parade.
What is St Patrick’s Festival and Skyfest?
St Patrick’s Festival is a national Irish festival that’s been happening
each year since 1996 and is accompanied by an amazing fireworks show, called Skyfest,
which happens on the weekend before St Patrick’s Day. This hugely popular
event always attracts more people than the organisers planned for – last year
for example, 50,000 people were expected but the actual number was more like 100,000!
Then there’s the million or so visitors who come over to Ireland for the more
general St Patrick’s Festival celebrations in Dublin too.
There’s plenty of good natured fun for the whole family during Skyfest, and
of course a fireworks display to rival all others with around 4,000 fireworks being
set off! The display is also set to background music from famous Irish bands like
U2, making it all the more dramatic and memorable, plus it’s also televised
on Irish television.
As well as the fireworks display and its accompanying music the St Patrick’s
Festival and Skyfest has live music, often provided by local Irish bands. This in
itself is usually a real treat for visitors from overseas! In Dublin you can also
expect a funfair, and of course the fun parade that winds its way through the streets
of Ireland’s capital city.
Check the official St Patrick’s Festival website for more details on the special
events happening during the 2010 festival.
A History of St Patrick’s Day
Around the world there are many large populations of people with Irish ancestry
which resulted from the emigration of large number A History of St Patrick’s
Day.
Around the world there are many large populations of people with Irish ancestry
which resulted from the emigration of large number of Irish people over the last
few hundred years. Being such a proud nation, the Irish have long celebrated St
Patrick’s Day in their new homelands, with celebrations becoming more and
more popular as people from all other walks of life have joined in too. The irony
was, back in Ireland, the celebrations on St Patrick’s Day were really nothing
to shout about and with a sense of shame and embarrassment the Irish government
set about establishing the St Patrick’s Festival.
The aim of St Patrick’s Festival was to create something that could be celebrated
by the whole nation, creating a great sense of pride, and this national event was
hoped to rival all other festivities around the world. work as a slave. He escaped
six years later and returned home but after entering the church and becoming a bishop
he returned to Ireland as a missionary to spread the word of the Christian faith.
Because of his work with the church he was declared a Saint in Heaven, and by the
8th century he was generally accepted as the patron saint of Ireland. Ireland actually
has two other patron saints, but it’s St Patrick who’s the best known
and loved!
Why the Shamrock?!
Everybody associates St Patrick’s Day with the colour green and the Shamrock,
but why?! Legend has it that Saint Patrick used a Shamrock (a 3 leaved green clover)
to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. Using the shamrock he could show
them the Christian belief that there are three divine persons within the one God.
The legend of the shamrock has lasted all this time, and you’ll see many people
wearing shamrocks on St Patrick’s Day, even though many of those people may
not even know this legend!
As you can see, the celebration of St Patrick’s Day (which is thought to have
been the day of his death) is really a religious occasion. The festival has become
quite secular though and is celebrated by people of many different faiths. However
the Christian church would really like to see a move back towards the more religious
side and away from the revelry commonly associated with St Patrick’s Day celebrations!
Getting to St Patrick’s Festival
Because St Patrick’s Festival is for the people of Ireland and the many visitors
who come here to celebrate from around the world, attending the festival is actually
free, so you don’t need to buy a ticket! If you’re heading to the parade
and other festivities in Dublin make sure you get your travel and accommodation
booked early as with around 1 million people attending you can appreciate that accommodation
and transport will get booked up quickly.
The good thing is that Dublin is well linked by air transport from Europe. Dublin
Airport is the busiest airport in Ireland and is used by many airlines including
Aer Lingus, Ryanair, BMI, Air France, and many more. You can also get to Dublin
from overseas by boat.