St. Patrick’s Day is great fun all over the world, with parades, parties, and civic receptions galore. In recent years, St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin has become a true spectacle. It’s like Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnival in Brazil: a fun, bucket-list experience that so many people dream about experiencing. 

There are events all over Ireland, from small parades in tiny towns, to music festival, performances, and the huge festival in Dublin every year. There’s nothing like being at the heart of it all in Ireland. And while Dublin is the first choice for visitors and has the biggest party, cities like Galway, Cork, or Belfast will also have big festivities with smaller crowds.  

St Patrick’s Day in Ireland just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Years ago it was a much quieter day, and even the Dublin parade was a far more sedate and local affair. Today the parade is an enormous spectacle, and it’s accompanied by a four-day festival that has grown in the past 20 years or so to a colossal event, featuring performances of music, dance, theater, and literature, as well as a feast of visual arts, food, wellness, and community activities. This celebration of Irishness showcases Ireland’s host of global influences, thanks to our long traditions of emigration and immigration. It’s one of the world’s biggest festivals with a global reach of over 700 million people in 2023. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re interested in coming over to see it all for yourself!

• No matter where you are, you can expect a buzz and a feeling of celebration – there will be a lot of traditional music playing and a great atmosphere in the towns, with lots of excited visitors.  
• The city of Dublin turns into a sea of emerald. Be sure to bring some green to wear! It’sa tradition to wear a sprig of shamrock for the day – visitors might be lucky enough to find some shamrock in a local shop. The traditional toast on St Patrick’s Day is often known as “drowning the shamrock” – that’s because it was tradition to take off the shamrock you’ve worn all day and drop it into a glass of whiskey.  
• The crowds in Dublin will be large and lively. Sometimes it’s a bit much for the locals, but to have people coming in from all over the world to celebrate with us is so exciting – there’s nothing like it! 
• Check out some of Ireland's great traditional foods – you’ll find dishes like shepherd’s pie, fish and chips, or perhaps an Irish stew on the menu. Ireland has an amazing food scene, with such an emphasis on the fresh and local: artisanal cheeses, vegetables grown in our lush green fields, fish straight from the sea. Visitors expecting corned beef and cabbage might be surprised to learn that that’s an Irish-American tradition from the 19th century, so it’s not eaten here, but there are so many delicious treats to try.  

If you’d like to join in 2025, here are a few tours that will be in Ireland for St Patrick’s Day next year: 

• Irish Adventure – March 10 and March 17 departure dates
• Taste of Ireland – March 16 departure date
• Best of Ireland South – March 8 departure date

• Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way – March 9 departure date

   

If a Private Driver trip is more your style, you can build your own custom vacation, tailored to take in all the official St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Visit our Custom Private Driver page to get started. 

Experience exactly the trip you want with an expert at the wheel, giving you the guidance only a local can.  

Or if a self-drive trip is more your style – we have plenty of options! 

And to celebrate St Patrick’s Day at CIE Tours, we’re running a special promotion through March 22: buy one airfare in conjunction with most of our 2024 guided tours of Ireland, and you can get 50% off a travel companion’s airfare. See more details.