My St patrick's day - Antoine

Hi readers!

One of the most important things when you are in Dublin in March is the famous “Saint Patrick’s Day”. In this article I will explain to you how my feeling during this celebration was.

Some weeks before, the DIT’s staff explained us that our classes are interrupted for the 16th and the 17th. This big week end was the opportunity for us to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day like Irish people!!!

Saint Patrick started the 14th with some activities like the Street Theatre or the Irish Beer & Whiskey festival. I decided to see the Irish Boat races with some friends. It took place on the river Liffey, between rivals such as the UCD (University College Dublin) and the Trinity College. It was an amazing battle between two prestigious universities of Dublin. This battle was composed of lot two steps: the man race and the women race. Each 2,2km rowing race started at 3:30 PM on O’Connell Bridge and finished at Saint James Gate. In the end, Trinity won all the races.

Next, I had the project to participate at the Saint Patrick’s Festival 5K Road Race. This annual Festival 5K Road Race is made for the more energetic festival participants. The run is suitable for families, fun runners and dedicated athletes. The atmosphere is lively; there are street performers, face painters and musicians everywhere along the road. But I did not participate to the race because the participation price was too expensive (25€).

To be ready for the 17th, it was essential to buy some green accessories (cap, hat, face painting…) at the Carroll’s (the biggest and most known souvenir Irish shop in Dublin) on the 16th. My Saint Patrick’s Day started by the Saint Patrick’s Festival Parade. Every year, around 500,000 people attend the parade in Dublin. It was amazing for me to walk along the parade itinerary with this number of people. Antonin, Anthony and I had lot of difficulties to find a place with a nice viewing of the parade because there were too many people. And this is why we don’t have a lot of pictures of the parade itself. After that, we decided to drink a Guinness in Temple Bar. The area was full of people and the ground was full of dishes…

In conclusion, I can say that Saint Patrick is an international festival for everybody. People are happy and just want to have fun! During this event most of the buildings in the city are illuminated by green lights, people are dressed up… I can resume this week end in three words: such fun!

Happy Easter! Antoine