St. Patrick's Day 2009 in Galway City

This year marks the 106th anniversary of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Galway city. With approximately 50,000 people due to attend, the carnival atmosphere will certainly carry through the one and a half mile parade route. Expect to see a very colourful parade featuring an international cast of pipe bands, dance groups and performing artists. Have a look at our brief guide for more information…
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Galway city today is a far cry from its humble beginnings back in 1903, when 10,000 people turned out to watch the parade pass through the city. This year is the 106th anniversary of the event, and rain hail or shine, there will be about 50,000 people lining every inch of the parade route.

This parade has a most definite international feel to it with pipe bands, dance groups and performing artists from all over the world taking part. The parade winds its way through the centre of Medieval Galway city and no doubt it will be great fun watching the parade expand on the wide streets and then tighten up when passing through the city’s narrow cobbled streets.

At the time of writing a start time had not been confirmed for the parade, but normally festivities get under way at about 12.30 for the one and a half mile parade route. The parade usually has a themed section, and last year for example it was "Tribes".

There will be many venues featuring traditional Irish music and dance throughout Galway city on St. Patrick’s Day. Accordion player Gary Quinn will perform a St. Patrick’s night special in the Town Hall Theatre in what promises to be a great night’s entertainment featuring traditional musicians, singers, and dancers. The show also features special guests, Sean De Burca, Kieran Quinn and Una Mc Ginty.

The Black Box Theatre hosts the annual St. Patrick’s Night Céilí/Fest Noz. Now in its 5th year it features Breton, Scottish, and Irish music and dance as well as visiting pipe bands and dance groups from Brittany.

So that’s just a very brief run down of what’s happening in Galway city on St. Patrick’s Day. If you would like further information, please take a look at the St. Patrick’s Day in Galway website.


Do you need accommodation in and around Galway city? Why not have a look at our Galway Hotels page for some ideas!



Did you attend any of the previous Galway City St. Patrick’s Day parades? Why not drop a comment in the box below about your experience – we would love to hear from you.

Comments

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  • #1
  • By: keeva
  • On: 13/Mar/09
I am greatly looking forward to another st. patrick's day in galway city. I live in galway and have been attending the parade for twenty years. However, what I'd really like to see in galway and indeed in the rest of Ireland would be more cultural and less drinking-orientated activities. It has always greatly disappointed me to see that our national day brings so many drink related arrests and incidents, I hate the fact that our national day comprises of a parade followed by a day's drinking.

I would love to see workshops with traditional Irish activities, so that we'd actually learn about our culture on this day. Making St.Bridgit's crosses, learning about our pagan history and its associated rituals. I'd especially love to see story telling nights, with old celtic and Irish tales, the Tuatha De Denann have a lot to teach us. I always pictured and dreamed of this, people old and young huddled in a oub around a fire listening to old stories.

So there's my feedback!

Slán go fóil,

Keeva
  • #2
  • By: Gearóid
  • On: 16/Mar/09
Absolutely right there Keeva.

I wandered around the pedestrian streets tonight on St. Patrick's Eve and it was embarrassing. It was so hard to look for any source of national pride. Teachers tried to instill pride talking about saints and scholars, but they are no longer to be found. It was all binge drinking. If that is our 'culture' we can just forget it. I drink myself, but are these vacuous people's lives so bad by day that getting blotto is the only way they can make sense of the world. Sad state of affairs. I think Irish people have gone soft. The current crop of young people have a really poor set of values and a crazy entitlement culture. The only way we differ from the English now is accent - and that is about it. I feel for foreigners who forked out to see our national day.

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