St. Patrick’s Day is Ireland’s unique holiday - and a day that the Irish live to the fullest! In 1998, our first St. Paddy’s day in Ireland, the weather was absolutely gorgeous! It was the first warm day we had since the onset of winter, and everyone was out to enjoy it. Day broke bright & clear with blue skies and by the time we headed out to check out the festivities, it was warm enough to head out without a jacket. By the way, we understand that this is not normal, and in fact, St. Paddy’s day tends to have some of the worst weather! We headed down to St. Stephen’s Green where the marchers and floats prepare for the parade. Lots of people milling about, but not too awfully crowded. We got a good site of some of the floats. They were definitely different than the norm in US parades, but they were quite intricate and tended to reflect the sense of being Irish. Here the druid priest looks over the stone portal at the front of the float.

As we headed toward the parade route, the crowds got increasingly larger. It was a good thing we viewed the floats at the Green, because as you can see from the picture at the right, the crowd was so thick, we couldn’t see the parade at all! Here on Dame Street (looking toward Trinity College) street the crowds were the thickest, with people hanging from window sills, off light posts, on top of signs and even on top of the buildings. The buildings are all draped with miles of green flags, adding to the festive nature of the day. As it is a national holiday, all businesses save a few small shops, are closed, so the entire population of Dublin comes into city center to enjoy. Some say that the wearing of the green is more an American thing, but there were certainly lots of Irish in green today. In fact, green hair seemed to be something of a fashion statement, as can be seen above right.

All afternoon and into the evening, there was entertainment in city center and along the quays. Then, once it was dark, the big fireworks display was performed in front of the Custom House on the Liffey. It was 20 minutes of spectacular pyrotechniques to the enjoyment of the crowds. (Thanks to Nancy Haynes for the fireworks pictures!)

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