Toronto81

Hi All,

I have been to Dublin before and didn't see any of the rest of Ireland, so I wanted to do it different this time. I have plenty of family to stay with in Dublin, but my boyfriend and I wanted to venture out and see more of the country.. We'll be arriving in Dublin March 6th till the 19th..

I would like to go to Belfast.. see some of the north.. we're thinking of renting a car.. and we want to be back in Dublin for the St. Patty's day weekend..

Also, he would like to golf at some point..

I would love to hear any suggestions of places to stay, routes to take and things to see on the way!

Thanks a bunch!

Ackislander

I don't think they say "St Patty" in Ireland. I think tha might be something the Irish diaspora came up with, like green beer.

Toronto81

Well that's what my grandma calls it.. and she's a Dublin girl Same with my mother and all my relatives.. maybe something they learned here?

HappyTrvlr

We spent St. Patrick's Day in Ireland and it was totally different from the way it's celebrated in the US. Men wore clumps of shamrocks on their lapels, roots and all. There were parades of schoolchildren, home made floats, scouts, with school bands and Masses given at churches. It was a national holiday combined with a religious one. Perhaps it has changed but it was very nice to see it celebrated that way.We spent the evening in a Pub listening to mournful patriotic songs sung by a mix of old and young.

janisj

Toronto81: I'm pretty sure your grandma says St Pa<B>dd</B>y's day. Not 'Patty'. Patty is a girl's name - not the patron saint of Ireland.

I wouldn't call it that when you are in Ireland.

adrienne

I don't know where the American custom came from to call St. Patrick St. Paddy. After all, we don't say St. Jimmy, St. Annie, St. Cathy or refer to any other saints by nick names. It seems a bit disrespectful.

Tony2phones

No Harm heading straight to Belfast from the Airport. day one then have a tour around the Glenns of Antrim and the North Antrim coast. I don't do Ball and Stick but its a big game up there. Maybe a couple of days around Portrush. Then Donegal down through Sligo into Mayo and the Connemara area. The aim being Galway for the 15th so you can get back over to Dublin for the drunken maul they call St Pats day. Personally I will be in Galway or Limerick for a better and more sedate offering.

On the subject of St Patrick's day http://paddynotpatty.com/ it would after all be bad taste to call a Canadian a Yank wouldn't it.

mariposa85

All Irish people say St. Paddy. It's not an American custom. Americans say St Patty, which nobody in Ireland would say.

Personally, I wouldn't want to spend this day in Dublin. I lived in Dublin for 5 years and actually went out of my way to avoid going into the city. People get very, very drunk and fights and random violence are common. I remember an American tourist getting his nose or jaw broken a few years ago. All the pubs will be packed to the point of not being pleasant. Each to their own but I don't consider Paddy's Day in Dublin to be a great experience.

29FEB

No, Americans do not routinely say "St. Patty."
I never heard that corruption until reading this forum.

(I also never dreamed that Stonehenge could be called Stone Hedge, but that's a different story.)

Padraig

mariposa85 wrote: "All Irish people say St. Paddy."

Not so.

mariposa85

OK, then, Padraig. All the Irish people I know say Paddy's Day. Me, my fiance, my dad, all my cousins, my friends. I have never heard an Irish person refer to Paddy's Day in any other way.

Cowboy1968

Well, I did not find St Patrick's Day in Dublin that ghastly. To be honest, it's been nice parades with participants and music from all over the world, more good fun than anything else, and if you did't want to get hammered by 3pm no one forced you at gun point into the Temple Bar pubs.
OTOH, coming from Bavaria, I don't think that three or four pints is intoxication but just a good start
And after watching today's news from NI, I think I'd much rather be in Dublin on March 17 than in Belfast.

Tony2phones

There is a Very Small area of Belfast far from Tourist spots that has a few Idiots causing mayhem. The sooner the world press "do one" the sooner it will fade away.

marirose

Thank you for scotching the gross and over familiar name for our beloved Saint Patrik.. and so few Irish use the abbreviation and then porobably only to please folk from the US. After all we sing "Glorious Saint Patrick.. " and nothing less.

Agree re Belfast; it is very disturbed there and this is set to continue; Dublin is fighting off similar rallies etc

Last year was really the first time I had been out much on March 17th. I tend to avoid the roads on such days and the markets etc are just too crowded for us. Last year however I was offered a market in Bandon so accepted and it waa an education! Watching the drummer band in their orange and green wigs was scary; think they were all high on something. It was Bandon's day to attempt the world leprechaun record so stallholders and their families were being morphed into leprechauns, leprechaunesses and leprechaunettes befofre my very eyes. And they won!

Sneem apparently is BIG on that day so I am avoiding it as we do not sell well on such occasions, but if the weather is OK I am planning to set up in a certain layby on the Ring of Kerry. I have shamrock growing here and will be making cards etc soon

marirose

There is a Very Small area of Belfast far from Tourist spots that has a few Idiots causing mayhem. The sooner the world press "do one" the sooner it will fade away.

This is a dangerous distortion of a very dangerous and explosive situation,

A number of police officers have been badly hurt in central areas.

If you want to risk, fine but please do not encourgae others to do the same with this ostrich mentality,

ter2000

If you must stay in Dublin for Patrick's Day (never Patty and I'm not too fond of Paddy either!) just stay for the morning to watch the Parade and then get the hell out of dodge. The city centre turns into a fairly drunken mess quite early and it's not pleasant. More details about the St Patrick's Festival here - http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie/

If you like Irish trad music, Céilí House Live at the National Concert Hall on the 16th would be well worth attending.

Jay_G

Tony2phones - that website is brilliant. I'm going to be sending that link to many friends in the good old U.S. of Stateside who will insist on calling it St. Patty's day.

Fra_Diavolo

"The city centre turns into a fairly drunken mess quite early and it's not pleasant."

Sounds almost as bad as New York City!

bobthecow

marirose, Have you ever been to Belfast?

marirose

marirose, Have you ever been to Belfast?


Am I seeing double here!

Yes, many times as I always work on reality not myth. it is overrated and has nothing the South does not have far more of.

It is British of course.

And the unrest there just now is volatile and dangerous and that is not based on press but on folk we know there. It could go either way in the next while. Dublin is keeping the rallies at bay for now but keeping a close eye on it
.
The dissidents thrive on folk saying they are idiots etc.

I did not know Ireland until I left the border county of Donegal and came South. It was a revelation and a delight.

But then you go your way and I will go mine and why you find that so difficult I have no idea. Always the same . I don;t mind yoiu going to Belfast but I do mind that you make questionable statements that might lead others into danger so I state the other side. Calmly and clearly

All that folk here say re the big cities on that day is sadly true; but nearly every smaller town has parades and markets that are charming. I gather Sneem is not one such, but some might like it
Bandon was good last year' a family occasion as it should be.

OK over and out for me!! Please don't talk at me or about me when I am gone; it is very impolite and I am sure no one here is that!