“The day of the festival of Patrick”. It’s a national holiday in Ireland. Traditionally a religious celebration it now emcompasses tradition and culture and is celebrated around the world. The 17th March marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick who is commonly recognized as the Patron Saint of Ireland c. AD 385-461.

It’s an official feast day in the Christian calendar , where mass is celebrated in honour of St. Patrick, those observing Lent are generally given a reprive from whatever they have given up for the 6 weeks of Lent, as children this meant enormous amounts of chocolate was consumed!

St. Patricks Day has become a major celebration around the world and particularly in the U.S.A where Irish Americans joined in parades and celebrations of their shared heritage.

We get a great kick here in Ireland when we see the world has joined in with the celebrations and light up some of their most famous landmarks in green for the day.

St. Patrick’s Day has become quite the party holiday in Ireland for anyone who has ever visited, you’ll know Dublin comes to a standstill for an enormous parade through the city centre with people from all over the world joining in as well local groups and bands. This year will see Brendan O’Connor aka Mrs. Brown lead the parade as the Grand Marshall.

If you are visiting Ireland this St. Patrick’s Day be sure to check out http://www.stpatricksfestival.com to see what’s on for the week long event and be sure to drop into the Donegal Shop for some lovely Irish made wool products!