“Everyone’s Irish on March 17th!”

The above quote is found on a blue girder in the Guinness Storehouse, and what better way to spend Paddy’s Day than on the streets of Dublin! My parents visited me here in Ireland, so they got to participate in the festivities as well. The city is lit up with green lights at night, there’s a carnival on Merrion Square, trad music plays in almost every pub, and the city is incredibly crowded with tourists from around the world. It seems as though everyone wants to claim Irish roots, and I don’t blame them. The Irish are absolutely wonderful people! I was very happy to finally get the chance to share that with my parents. Not only was I happy to see them, I also felt a sense of pride showing them around Dublin–that I could keep up with the pace of the locals, navigate the streets, and know all the great places to eat. We also got to experience the Paddy’s Day crowds that packed themselves into restaurants and pubs like sardines. Unfortunately, they had to leave the morning of March 17th, but I was so happy and lucky to have them here.

My friends and I went to see the parade on Paddy’s Day all decked out in our green. I definitely felt festive, and it was so cool to actually be in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day! The people’s parade preceded the larger parade with floats, and the people’s parade was filled with so much diverse culture. People from around the world were marching in it, and a few of my friends even decided to sign up for it! The crowds were so dense that I had trouble getting over the river to meet up with other students from Trinity and DCU for the hurling and Gaelic football club finals at Croke Park. If you ever have the chance to watch either of these sports, I highly recommend it! Both of them are so intense and fast-paced, and the men in hurling only wear helmets, while the men playing Gaelic football don’t wear any gear. They get sacked and knocked into just like American football players. Seriously, look it up, I had an amazing time!

I’m proud to call myself a Dubliner, and it felt so funny to feel like my city was over-taken by tourists. Then, I realized that was the beauty of Dublin and Ireland in general. It attracts people from all over the world–there’s just something about it, I almost can’t explain it. My St. Paddy’s Day experience allowed me to feel Irish in a rather cheesy way, and sometimes that’s really fun!