8 Do’s & Don’ts for Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin
Feel the Luck O’ the Irish in 2024!
EST. READING TIME: 9 MIN
IN THIS GUIDE ✺
Watching the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade
Excited to spend a quintessentially Irish holiday in the country’s capital?
St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, Ireland
I visited Ireland for the first time in March 2023 with my best friend, and with our trip dates including St. Patrick’s Day we knew we had to spend the holiday in Dublin! Celebrating a cultural holiday in the country it originated in is a party like no other, but after my Paddy’s experience I walked away wishing I had known what to expect. If I were to return to Dublin for another St. Patrick’s Day celebration, there are certainly a few things I would change the second time around.
If you’re visiting Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day in 2024, you’re in luck! Learn from my mistakes as I recap the good and the bad of my undeniably Irish experience. The following tips will ensure you’re as prepared as possible to make the most of the green festivities. Get ready to eat, drink, and be merry as you enjoy the craic of Paddy’s Day in Dublin!
#1. DO: Book Flights and Accommodations in Advance
Traveling during the holiday season leads to surge pricing—meaning you have to pay the highest rates possible to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. This isn’t necessarily a problem if you plan your trip in advance, but if you’re just thinking about booking that ticket to Dublin now, it’s probably too late. Last year, two nights in the Harding Hotel cost a whopping $762.76 in total. For comparison, two nights with two guests is only around $500 in June, so you’ll be paying at least a $200 premium to stay in Dublin during the holiday. If you’re seeking budget-friendly accommodations, the Abbey Court Hostel is a short walk to Temple Bar and all the major Dublin sights. A few days before the holiday, I was able to snag a bed here for only $42.17. Be warned, however, that this is truly a no frills hostel—you’ll be sleeping in a room full of twin bunk beds with blackout curtains circled around the frames and have to use the public bathroom stalls shared amongst the floor.
Darkey Kelly’s bar counter attached to Harding Hotel in Dublin, Ireland
I was fortunate to already be in London prior to traveling to Ireland, since we fit both of these countries into our spring break plans, so my flight over to Dublin cost a mere $87.10. If you can do the same—that is, travel to Europe from the U.S. and spend a few days before flying over to Ireland—I imagine this may be even cheaper than flying directly to Dublin before the holiday.
#2. DON'T: Worry About Packing Green Attire
My 2023 St. Patrick’s Day attire in Dublin!
As you may imagine, Dublin businesses prepare well in advance for St. Patrick’s Day. Aside from the endless tourist shops you’ll find sporting green memorabilia in every shape and donned with any slogan you can think of, there’s also a slew of street vendors selling themed wares for the holiday. I came to Dublin prepared with shamrock glasses and a forest green top, but I also picked up a sporty Ireland scarf from a vendor while waiting for the annual parade to start.
If you’re traveling lean and only bringing a carry-on, don’t worry about packing any green attire. You’ll be able to easily find what you need to celebrate the holiday completely decked out, even if you wait until the day of! From my experience last year, the vendor prices were pretty reasonable as well—I got this scarf for only $10! If you’re bundling a few items from the same merchant, consider negotiating the final price to save some spare change for the pubs.
#3. DO: Start Your Day at the Guinness Storehouse
Touring the Guinness Storehouse was the highlight of my St. Patrick’s Day experience in Dublin, and it makes for the absolutely perfect activity to start your Irish celebration the right way.
Open as early as 9:30 AM, you’ll have sufficient time to tour the storehouse, get a little (or a lotta) buzz going, and then make it back just in time to watch the parade!
Barley roasting exhibit inside the Guinness Storehouse
Home of the “world’s most popular stout,” this experience allows you to get up close and personal with the sights, sounds, tastes, and aromas of Guinness. The beginning of the self-guided tour walks you through the precise, scientific methodologies used to craft and brew a pint of Guinness. The exhibits themselves feel incredibly modern, with neon signs and interactive stations that present just enough information without being boring. You’ll even be able to walk over the original 9,000 year lease signed by founder Arthur Guinness in 1759. If that wasn’t exciting enough, the seven floors of the storehouse include multiple cafes, bars, and brasseries on top of an open brewers’ dining hall. Fueling up for the day (a must before day-drinking!) while you’re at the storehouse is ideal, since the rest of the city will be incredibly crowded and the food was actually quite incredible—I devoured clam chowder and oysters infused with Guinness! If seafood isn’t your thing, there’s also stews, sausages, and of course fries beer battered in Guinness.
The best part about this tour is that your ticket comes with a complimentary pint of Guinness—or two if you upgrade to the “stoutie” experience!—setting you well on your way to a lively, Irish St. Patrick’s Day. This brew can be enjoyed in the Gravity Bar, where you’ll feel the energy of Dublin with a breathtaking 360° view as you observe the city preparing for celebration from above. All in all, you can expect this experience to last about two hours, so I’d recommend scheduling a tour for 10:00 AM to ensure you’re back in time for the 12:00 PM parade.
#4. DON'T: Expect to Drink Anything but Beer
If you love beer, you’re in luck—this is pretty much the only alcoholic beverage served in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day. I, on the other hand, find most beer to be repulsive and would generally pick any other alcoholic beverage to drink instead.
My best friend and I had preemptively braced ourselves to drink a pint at the Guinness Storehouse, which was undoubtedly the darkest brew we had both ever consumed. We were willing to down this stout for the plot—and because our faces were printed on it!—but we were not prepared to have to choke down more beer during the rest of the day. Retrospectively, it makes sense that on what is probably the busiest day for all the pubs in the city, they would only offer drinks they could easily churn out in seconds to the drunken crowds barraging their counters. We discovered this to be the case at the first pub we returned to after the parade, Darkey Kelly's, which was conveniently connected to our lodging, the Harding Hotel. Although it was early in the afternoon and the truly boisterous crowds had not yet formed, we were originally denied when trying to order cocktails from the bar. A second bartender saw our dismay and very kindly whipped out the Moscow mules we had requested, but after that it was all hops for the rest of the day.
Two St. Patrick’s Day “stouties” with our faces printed on the foam!
We got by ordering light fruity ciders, which many of the pubs had on tap in addition to their traditional brews, but if you truly despise beer or are gluten-free you’ll need to prepare in advance. My suggestion would be to purchase your drink (or other substances) of choice the day before the holiday, and make sure you account for time to pregame on the day of the event since you will not find anything but beer to order in the pubs themselves. You could also consider carrying a flask to mobilize your concoction.
Pro Tip:
If you also want to order a pint with your face printed on it, tour the Guinness Storehouse and make sure to purchase the premium experience with a “stoutie” included for only €8 more!
#5. DO: Watch the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade
When celebrating Paddy’s Day in the heart of a global celebration of Irish culture, it would be a shame if you missed the main event, none other than the National St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This bucket list processions draws half a million spectators who gather each March to witness a thunderous display of music and pageantry. Over 4,000 parade performers wind their way through the historic streets of Dublin, bursting with a sense of raucous celebration. The 2024 lineup will feature 18 pageants and performance showpieces interspersed with music from 14 marching bands, all coalescing into the theme of ‘spréach’, the Irish word for spark which represents the unique essence of Ireland and Irish people.
The parade will begin at 12:00 PM on Sunday, March 17th in Dublin City Centre, running from Parnell Square down O'Connell Street, over O'Connell Bridge and through the south side of the city before terminating at the end of Kevin St. Lower. Standing anywhere along the parade route will provide you with an ample view of the 2-hour long procession, but if you would prefer to sit consider purchasing grandstand seats in advance—the only tickets left for the 2024 parade are the €240 St. Patrick's Parade Hospitality Package! Assuming you’ll be standing, comfortable shoes and a bottle of water (to balance out all the beer you’ll be drinking) are highly recommended; you can expect vendors to sell refreshments along the entire route.
I enjoyed the spectacle and excitement in 2023 from Lord Edward street after simply stepping outside from my lodging, the Harding Hotel. As this street lies towards the end of the parade route, we didn’t start seeing performers until around 1:18 PM.
Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band playing bagpipes in kilts
#6. DON'T: Expect Much Irish Representation
Purdue University’s “World’s Largest Drum”
I found the most underwhelming part of my experience to be the National St. Patrick’s Day Parade observed on the streets of Dublin. The parade itself wasn’t actually bad, but it completely strayed from my expectations and felt a little too close to home. While waiting for the procession to start, I eagerly anticipated a spectacular showcase of Irish culture, heritage, and people. I figured I’d see kilts, bagpipes, Irish wolfhounds, and maybe even some Irish dancers exemplifying the spirit of craic, but for the most part I saw Americans?
There was the Purdue University marching band banging the “World’s Largest Drum” with Michigan State’s squad preceding them, and following those groups were multiple high school marching bands originating from Indiana, South Carolina, and Ontario. This critique is not meant to shade any of the aforementioned musicians, but if the “national” St. Patrick’s Day parade was aiming to include marching band performances, I would’ve preferred to see actual Irish students highlighted in this production. It does seem like this national underrepresentation is intentional, as only 2 out of the 14 bands highlighted in the 2024 lineup are from Ireland.
Once the random American bands had passed, the next surprise was a train of extravagantly decorated floats ridden and surrounded by performers in fantasy costumes. There was the big bee QR code float, some sort of pink elephant-esque creature, and green aliens flocking their spacecraft. Once again, nothing about these floats was inherently bad, but these strange critters are certainly not things I think of as being “Irish”. With this in mind, if you do plan to watch the parade, I’d recommend arriving with an open mind. Don’t expect to see much Irish representation, but you will certainly be entertained by whatever and whoever strolls by.
#7. DO: Spend the Day Pub-Hopping
After watching the parade, the next most Irish thing you can do is spend the day pub-hopping! There’ll be a buzz in the air and you’ll hear trad music coming from the many pubs dotting the streets. Given the holiday, most pubs will be busier than usual with long queues to order drinks at the bar—but that’s to be expected during any kind of national celebration.
I was fortunate to be staying in a hotel with a pub attached! If you can find a similar set-up, this was extremely ideal since we could easily head upstairs to our room for a quick break (and use our bathrooms), before heading right back down to enjoy the ruckus. Even though our lodging was connected to this establishment, the walls were sufficiently sound-proof and we never heard any boisterous pub noises from our bedroom.
Jigging to live Irish music inside Darkey Kelly’s
Darkey Kelly’s is the pub in question here, known as one of the best pubs in Dublin for traditional Irish music! On Paddy’s Day we were graced with live music emerging from a quartet composed of a banjo, guitar, accordion, and flute! The music was so delightful that we broke out into our attempt at an Irish jig with many of the bar patrons around us, dancing the night away in a celebration of all things Irish.
#8. DON'T: Try Getting into Temple Bar Pub
Crowded Temple Bar Pub on St. Patrick’s Day
While it may have dawned on you that the best way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day would be to go for a pint at arguably Dublin’s most famous pub, it turns out everyone else has the same idea. Temple Bar Pub on St. Patrick’s Day is the definition of pure chaos—drunken crowds packed tightly within walled streets means you won’t be able to reach the bathroom or bar anyways. On this non-ticketed day anyone can show up and add to the madness, which usually peaks at dangerous levels after the parade ends and party goers look for their next activity. Eventually the Gardai, or Irish police, will seal off the area to prevent more people from coming in. This is precisely when I arrived at Temple Bar, and even exiting the area took a fair bit of time while weaving through droves of people.
The Irish Road Trip offers a wealth of alternate ways to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Temple Bar, including pub and non-pub related activities, so I recommend you start rethinking your plan there if you had your sights set on pints from Temple Bar Pub.
Getting FOMO from watching your friends celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2024 in Dublin? Start planning your trip to Ireland now for St. Patrick’s Day 2025—and remember these tips to celebrate the holiday the right way!
