Members -- 10 days ago
Words: Violet
Last year I had the pleasure of spending St Patrick’s Day in Dublin, and what a day it was. In fact, if I remember correctly, it was more of weekend – a long weekend at that. My plane had hardly touched the runway (decorated with orange and green balloons – naturally), before I was whisked into a teaming bar and thrown several drinks to devour, before it all became a little hazy and we were all stumbling home to ‘have an early night’ before the real fun started the next day. This ‘real fun’, involved Bloody Mary’s at 10:30 am with our toast and eggs, before the house was filled with other revellers for our ‘liquid brunch’. This was the merely the tip of the iceberg of my St Patrick’s Day experience, and yes, I know it’s not all about the drinking, it is of course a celebration of good ol’ St Patrick, the 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop, and patron Saint of Ireland (thank you wikipedia). You can sugar coat it all you like, but really we all plan on doing one thing and one thing only on St Patrick’s day and that involves good friends and drinks…and lots of them.
If you, like myself, are not lucky enough to be in Ireland this weekend (my liver will thank me one day), then do not fear, as London has some great options for where to spend St Patrick’s Day this year and these are our choices…
THE BAR – MR FOGG’S, On Monday 17th March 2014, Mr Fogg and his household staff, in support of their Irish neighbors and friends, are partnering with Ireland’s finest, Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, to host a special Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Well known for enjoying a knees up, the residence of Mr Fogg’s will be full of Irish good cheer and shall be putting on festivities to rival that of the streets of Dublin. Guests will be welcomed by Celtic musicians, Banish Misfortune, the most talented jig band this side of Limmerick, who will be playing throughout the evening, before they are all invited to join Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, for a St Patrick’s toast, alongside some delicious canapés of Irish delicacies., mr-foggs.com 15 Bruton Ln, London W1J 6JD
THE BOAT – HMS PRESIDENT RIVER BAR, It’s all hands on deck for one of London’s biggest Irish celebrations – so all aboard the HMS President (otherwise known as the HMS St. Patricks Day). It’s time to let your hair down and enjoy a craic-ing night of Irish shenanigans, in homage to good ol’ St. Paddy. Step on board from 7.30pm, and you’ll be greeted with a welcome drink and a proper ‘Cead Mile Failte’ (a hundred thousand welcomes). Look forward to traditional Irish bands and a whole host of DJs who’ll be warming up the dance floor for jigs and reels until 2am; there is no doubt that this is going to be one hell of a St. Paddy’s Day celebration., hmspresident.com Victoria Emabankment, London, EC4Y 0HJ
THE PARADE – ST PATRICKS DAY LONDON PARADE AND FESTIVAL, The biggest St Patricks Day events in England are back again, so don’t miss out on the parade and free festival taking place the day after St Patricks Day on Monday 17th March. Featuring marching bands and representatives from across Ireland, the London parade is an all out celebration of all things Irish, and finishes with a huge festival in Trafalgar Square., london.gov.uk
IF IN DOUBT…, Grab some friends and head to your nearest Irish pub.
