If Cjar is still reading this, I'd say, don't worry. There are masses of pubs in that area, which is some distance from Trafalgar Square. (Though any Saturday night will be fairly busy in that part of town, and one can never entirely rule out the possibility of over-refreshed idiots, pub licences depend on their being able to deal with that sort of problem). Immediately behind the Gielgud Theatre on Rupert Street is the White Horse, for instance.

A fair number, but not all, of the other pubs and bars in the area cater for a largely gay clientele, but these days there's less and less of an exclusionary distinction, so don't let that worry you. Anyway there are plenty to choose from.

In addition, England play Ireland in London on 17 March in what could be the decisive match of the rugby Six Nations Championship, so many pubs could be very lively and showing the match ( which may or may not be a good thing for you. Personally, I would love it!).

Actually my first visit to London ( about 15 yrs ago) did fall on St Patricks day.. and our friend who lives just outside london did take us to a pub.. in London.. I loved it.. there was a few tables in corner wearing shamrock and then they all started folk songs.. obviously a bit impaired.. but not rowdy .. it was magical actually.

Ps I m not young but Im not a stick in the mud.. as long as people dont fight or get lewd I can handle a good time now as well as I did 30 years ago..

A lot of Scots simply don't identify as British any more than the Irish do so he might have found being referred to as 'you British' a bit offensive. And as you realised, calling any Scot English is a real faux pas.

Thanks mjdh, I get it: Scots are Scots, but I admit to being a bit confused over this at the time (years ago). Won't make that mistake again!

Apologize for the slight thread diversion.

Yes, I am still following along. Lapping up any other little gems of information. Thank you for the pub recommendation. I am certain we’ll have a great time wherever we end up. My only concern now is whether or not we’ll freeze to death in the short time were there and if business goes on as usual when it’s -1. As my husband likes to say, “ It is what it is” .

It's two weeks away. Chances are we'll have forgotten all about the snow, at least in London. And business carries on below freezing - if anything, more comfortably for those who do venture out, because places might be a bit less crowded.

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts until the last possible minute for packing. One year we had our summer on a Tuesday in March.

"With regard to Irish history, I sincerely doubt there’d be reason for celebrating St. Patricks’s day in London"

Characteristic American ignorance of history - and of countries other than their own.

Modern London is possibly the most multi-ethnic city the world's ever seen. The integration of Irish-born Irishpeople into Britain is so complete, there's no way of even estimating how many there are: though, uniquely, the Irish-born have to declare the fact to the State (to secure their right to vote in ALL UK elections), the information isn't published - even in the electoral register. But most of us would guess a few hundred thousand: FAR more than in plastic Paddy paradises like New York.

True, the British don't celebrate saints' days - so the 20-30% of London's population entitled to an Irish passport generally don't go to Mass (as even most members of the Episcopalian churches here call a weekday Eucharist these days), and of course about a third of London Irishpeople, if they observed a religion, would go to a Nonconformist chapel where they'd rarely celebrate saints' days anyway.

Observance of the day, of course, is about more than going to Mass. The probable next (if not next, then next but one) King is Colonel in Chief of the Irish Guards (he wore its uniform at his wedding), and presents shamrock - like his predecessor, his gt grandmother - to the regiment every March 17, For some reason I've never fathomed, in plastic Paddy land, there's an absurd "constitutional" pedantry preventing the country from officially recognising the day in a similar way. The CinC role isn't restricted to the British Royal Family, of course: when I was young, it was held by my father's platoon-mate in the regiment, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. But the day has EXACTLY the same status in official British celebrations as the feasts of St George (obviously more than him, of course, since even the Vatican isn't sure he ever existed), St David or St Andrew - our other three "national" saints.

Mass apart (and, BTW, I've not noticed much of a church attendance upsurge on March 17 in America's plastic Paddy paradises either), why would we celebrate St Patrick? For much the same reason we (those of us who celebrate these things) celebrate the other great pioneers of bringing European civilisation to these islands. And unlike - say - St Augustine, he was probably born here.

Now we DO discourage racist murderers, or those supporting them, from hijacking the day - in London, as in Armagh (you do know the significance of Armagh, and which country it's in, don't you?). We regret the fact that the celebrations in Dublin stopped following our lead in this about 90 years ago. We've never expected Americans to share our sensitivity about such things, so we don't waste time in spouting our regrets.

But do remind me: since Americans so often allow the feast of St Patrick to be hijacked by terrorists, or to become an opportunity for racist bigotry, what is it exactly you ARE celebrating?

It certainly can't be your reverence for St Patrick. Or your respect for us Irish.

In your usual acerbic style, we are all now duly chastened, especially we selfish, racist ,ignorant Americans. I am told my heritage is Danish ,Dutch and Irish. My husband’s is Spanish,Mexican , and Asian. Our family includes those of Italian, Philippino, and Jewish heritage. Our friends include many ethicities, religions and viewpoints. We have Catholics, Christians, Jews and Atheists in our family. We have gay, straight and still figuring it out in our family. We are raising our children to be kind, curious, and to think for themselves. When you choose to educate us on history or current affairs, please don’t paint us all with the same brush. Our current president lost the popular vote and he and his nefarious administration have an agenda that hardly represents the desires of all Americans.

My apologies for my outburst. I believe flanneruk to be Fodor’s Forum troll whose posts, if you are American, should only be read while heavily sedated. I was entirely too lucid and took the bait. Shame on me.

Flanner likes to tweak American tails but he is very helpful with travel information. I agree with many of his comments although I’d probably put them in more emollient terms. I think that many Irish people of the non plastic variety would also object to “St Paddy”.

omg, I love St Patrick's day. I climbed Crough Patrick last year. Savannah does have mass before the big parade. I have relatives that immigrated to the US from Armagh and from Carlow. The fields of Athenry is my favorite Irish ballad. My ancestor's fought at Bunker Hill and the war of 1812. They were the ones that came from jolly old England. Give us a break, we love to party, have parades and just enjoy the day. Flanner, we just did the pilgrimage to the Somme and area around Verdun paying tribute to all those fallen soldiers. My great uncle fought and paid dearly for his service there. My Grandfather was headed over when it came to an end thankfully. We aren't all bad. I would be in the pub for sure if in London, Dublin or the US. Enjoy the day.