Standby (or non-rev) travel is an amazing privilege any time of the year, to any destination. But, it becomes an even more advantageous perk for special events or celebrations around the world – times when already pricey airfare can become prohibitive to many travelers. For the standby traveler, huge demand means slimmer chances for open seats. But when the lucky one does open up, you suddenly feel like you’ve been given a golden ticket. We found such luck (perhaps, of the Irish?) the week before St. Paddy’s, so we took advantage of the opportunity to drive the gorgeous Irish countryside before ending our adventure celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin.

Deciding to go to Ireland the week of St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t completely cliché – the week corresponded with my graduate spring break, it happened to be our (red-haired, green-eyed, freckled) Irish-American friend’s 30th birthday, and the holiday fell on a weekend. It was perfect timing, especially for our friend whose 30 year dream it was to visit the rolling green hills of her ancestral home.

We spent the week exploring castles and prehistoric sites, marveling at the idyllic countryside and coastal views, drinking whiskey and Guinness in dark and brooding pubs, reuniting with old friends and making new ones, and generally falling in love with the Emerald Isle. Getting to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin was the cherry on top of an already unforgettable experience.

But we didn’t just celebrate St. Paddy’s in the pubs and the streets like any normal visitor, we were lucky enough to actively participate in the annual St. Patrick’s Festival. The year we visited, the national tourism board and a number of arts and cultural organizations were promoting The Gathering, a celebration of Irish heritage across the globe. One of the many events associated with this year-long endeavor was the People’s Parade, an official event of the five day festival. We were four of the 8,000 overseas visitors selected to celebrate Irish culture and heritage from all corners of the world.

Being able to participate in the parade was really just more dumb luck. I happened to stumble upon The Gathering website while I was doing my usual pre-trip research. I sent an email to Rufio and our two accompanying friends causally asking if they would be interested; I was pretty excited about the prospect, but I thought they might pass it off as childish. Luckily I was wrong, they all sent back a resounding “yes!”, and with that an online form was submitted. A week or two later we received confirmation that we were invited to participate to represent our alma maters and the United States. That invitation helped us anchor our road trip itinerary. Rather than flying in to Dublin and staying a few days, we would take off immediately to hit the other stops on our self-driving tour, before ending back in Dublin the day before the parade.

A Day in Dublin

After a warm traditional Irish breakfast, and a walk across St. Stephen’s Green to City Hall in order to pick up our badges for the parade, we had the day at our disposal. Guinness happens to be Rufio’s all-time favorite beer, and he had been giddy with the excitement of pouring his own beer at the Storehouse since the day we set foot on Irish soil.

The Guinness Storehouse is a multi-sensory experience, which allows visitors to trace the history of one of Ireland’s most iconic treasures, and more importantly offers tastings and the opportunity to learn to pour the perfect pint. Anyone who loves a good Irish pub knows perfecting this skill is a matter of pride, and there is no better place to learn it than at the St. James Gate Brewery, where it all began in 1759.

Flash forward a few centuries, and the spot where Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease is now home to a sprawling, interactive homage to the “black stuff”. You could very easily spend the better part of a day touring the facility, and we certainly spent a few hours.

Having perfected our pint pouring skills, it was time to explore the rest of the city. We decided this was the perfect destination to get to know in the best way we know how – pub crawling. We started our crawl at Brazen Head Pub, the oldest pub in Dublin and arguably the second oldest in all of Ireland. Football matches were on, and the place was packed with supporters. After a few pints, it was on to Brogan’s Bar, and then the infamous Temple Bar pub district.

It was here, a crowded and touristy area on a normal weekend, that we knew it was St. Patrick’s weekend in Dublin. Every pub was packed to capacity, and drunken foreigners spilled out to fill the closed-off streets. We managed to find some elbow room at the Snug, where we convinced the house band to sing the “Happy Birthday” song to our friend. The crowds were exhausting, so after shopping for some shamrock flare, we made our way to a less crowded pub district close to our AirBnB.

We had another pint at Hogan’s Bar, grabbed dinner and played Jenga at Against the Grain, and finished up our pre-festivities evening at Whelan’s Pub. This is allegedly where the pub scenes from “P.S. – I love you” were filmed, and the birthday girl wanted a peek. Touristy as that may have been, a good band was playing in the back, so it worked out for the rest of us.

St. Patrick’s Festival

Though we awoke groggy after our pub tour, the excitement of waking up on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin made us feel like a bunch of kids on Christmas. We giddily dressed in our “Beerfest”-inspired red, white, and blue track suits accented with green tutus, hats, scarves, headbands, and face stickers.

Our host laughed at our regalia, as she chatted with us over another warm and hearty Irish breakfast about the more low-key plans she had with her family. Fully fueled, it was finally time to celebrate.

We set out into a typically gray and rainy Sunday. By the time we arrived at the designated staging area, we were already thoroughly soaked and cold. Our excitement, and the swelling crowd, made us forget the discomfort for a bit.

After what seemed like an eternity waiting along a side street, our staging group was finally ushered onto the parade route. Thousands of spectators lined the route, cheering and waving, all decked in iconic shamrock green. The energy was electric, and for a while we completely forgot about the cold.

We marched along with people from 40 different countries, all waving flags and wearing insignias and colors to represent their home. We marched 2 miles past some of most Dublin’s historic sites, like the GPO, Trinity College, and Dublin Castle.

We were surrounded by an ecclectic crew of Candians, Americans, Texans, Aussies and more. When we passed the television staging area, we smiled, waved and yelled “Hi, Mom!” to the camera, for our families streaming the event back at home. We were often as amused by the spectators – hanging out of windows, climbing statues, waving from rooftops – as we were by some of the performers in the parade.

Nearer to the end of the route, our excitement-induced adrenaline had worn off, and we realized how cold and tired we all were. We made a pact to slug on to the bitter end, and so we turned our attention to the smiling faces, the Brazilian dancers, the funny drunk guy next to us, anything we could to keep our spirits up.

When we reached the finish line, though, we realized our cold and wet feet were worth the experience. We had just spread joy to thousands of people, locals and visitors alike, and taken part of a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We picked up some dry socks in a St. Paddy’s-themed store, tucked in to Swan Bar, propped our feet up next to a burning radiator, and drank the most delicious pint of Guinness we had ever tasted. From there, we watched the as the traditional theatrical St. Patrick’s Festival parade moved down the route – one filled with local artists, dancers, musicians, and performers who all further entertained the cheering masses.

Newly revived, we did exactly what you might expect us to do on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin – pub crawl. We hit a few pubs near Swan Bar, tried our luck in the Temple Bar district, and when that was overwhelming enough we headed back to the district from the night prior. We wanted to toast sláinte one last time, to honor a remarkable week. Our taxi driver from the airport highly recommended Bleeding Horse Pub, and we had learned over the years that drivers rarely lead you astray. The pub was large, and it was packed with revelers, though the atmosphere was markedly less inebriated than in Temple Bar. We managed to secure four spots in a shared booth, in a dark corner of the top floor. We laughed and chatted with our friendly booth mates, some local and others studying abroad, until we realized our 4 AM wake up call was nearing ever-closer. We said our final sláinte, to our old friends, our new friends, and a St. Paddy’s Day unlike any other.

This, our last pint, was a one of those travel moments I have always cherished and thought about on occasion. Other than the holiday, there was nothing particularly special about this moment in time. We were just in a good pub, with good friends, good conversation, and a good beer. But in a way, this embodied the essence of the country we came to know that week. It’s moments like these – not always the parades, or parties, or sights – that continue to inspire our travels.

Sojourn Information

What it’s like: Americans and others around the world have fully embraced the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, albeit as a drinking holiday rather than a celebration of a venerated religious figure as it was originally (and still is in Ireland) intended. It has become such an ingrained annual tradition, people all over the world dream of celebrating where it all began. Hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon the nation in the days and weeks leading up to March 17 on this bucket list adventure.

For that reason, St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin is much as you would imagine – people dressed head-to-toe in green, packed into pubs and spilling out into the streets, guzzling down pints of Guinness all the day long. But, those throngs of people are largely Americans, Canadians, Brits, Aussies, you name it. To be sure, locals love the holiday, are proud of their pub culture, and absolutely join in the revelry and festivities. But, if you travel to Dublin specifically for St. Patrick’s Day, just be aware that the celebration as it exists now – with all the green swag and beer flowing like water – is really a product of demand from foreigners coming to get the “St. Paddy’s experience”, which makes it feel a little fabricated. Perhaps not authentic, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Like I said, locals do attend the parade and other Festival events. But, they are more likely to enjoy a meal with their family in the evening at home or in a quiet neighborhood pub listening to live music than party in the street.

That all being said, the Festival and crowded pub scene in Temple Bar, and all across the city, is a raucous good time, and I would recommend going to anyone who loves a good pint. Just know that you’ll be chugging beer with guys and gals chatting to you in plenty of other accents besides Irish.

Where to drink: Guinness Storehouse, Brazen Head Pub, Snug, Brogan’s Bar, Swan Bar, Harry Lemon Pub, Whelan’s Pub, Bleeding Horse Pub.

Where to stay: As with any major event, accommodations will go fast and for a premium. We were lucky to find an affordable option on AirBnB. It was our first experience in a homestay where the owner lived on the property, and what a perfect stroke of luck. Not only did our host made us traditional Irish breakfast every morning, but moreover she was so welcoming, friendly, and hospitable that we all felt like we were right at home.

Do you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin? Leave a comment below!

Disclaimer: If you sign up with AirBnB and make a reservation using the link above, you and I will both receive a credit, at no cost to you! As always, the opinions and recommendations presented in this blog are mine, and always an honest reflection on our experiences. Thank you for reading!