St. Patrick’s Day 2022

It isn’t Ireland, but Luxembourg still knows how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you want to spend your day on a bar crawl, celebrate with traditional Irish dance, and music, or if you just simply want to make a traditional Irish dinner, we bring you our best recommendations for the upcoming holiday! 

March 17 is not just Ireland’s National Holiday but also the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who is credited with bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle in the 5^th century. Being a traditional Christian country, Ireland insists on marking both momentous occasions with full gusto, which can often give the impression that it is celebrating as if there were no tomorrow. 

Where to drown the Shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day

An age-old custom, but thankfully it is just an idiom and you don’t have to dunk any weeds into your beverage of choice. Drowning the shamrock means to drink alcohol on this holy day.

Here is a list of local Irish pubs which have lined up wonderful entertainment for us all. Please note that liberties have been taken with the number of hours that make up this day, and the count can stretch up to 120 hours! A miracle to which we can credit the Saint himself.

1. Updown Bar: Located in the Grund district of Luxembourg City, this bar is hosting an event in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. To kick off the celebration, Guinness pints are only  5 euros for the entire week, including March 17th. So if you are unable to celebrate on the actual holiday, check out Updown a different night that week! For more information about the bar, hours, and the weeklong celebration, click here to visit Updown’s Facebook Page.
   
2. Afterwork St. Patrick: If you have to work on St. Patrick’s Day, but still want to celebrate, Auchan and the Cloche d’Or Experience is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day event. The event features live music from the music group Sterpi, Irish beer, numerous contests, tapas, and wood fired pizza. The event starts at 6:00pm and will be held at the Cloche d’Or Experience. For more information, click here. 
   
3. The Black Stuff: After being cancelled the past two years due to COVID-19, The Black Stuff is back with their famous St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Their event features live music from 4 different bands including: Alizeti, Alex Michael, Carl Wyatt and the Delta Voodoo Kings, and DJ Andrew Matin. Along with the live music, the event will feature a food truck which will offer some of the best burgers, especially after a few pints of beer! Doors open at noon on March 17th, and you can find more information on The Black Stuff’s Facebook Page, here. 
   
4. Make Green Beer: Making your own green beer is the easiest and cheapest way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the boozy way! All you need to do is find your favorite beer, bonus points if it is an Irish beer, and add a few drops of green dye! You can make this kid friendly by adding green dye to their juice or water!

Cultural Events: 

1. Virtual tour of the Kilmainham Gaol Museum: If you are unfamiliar with the Kilmainham Gaol, it is a former prison in Ireland which today symbolizes Irish tradition and nationalism. The building is not only extraordinary, it is jammed packed with rich Irish history dating back to the 1700s. To learn more about the building, the history, and to take a guided virtual tour, click here. 
2. St. Alphonse Church: If you want to honor St. Patrick’s Day by going to church, you’re in luck! Every Wednesday at 6:15pm, St. Alphonse Church holds mass in English. This gives you the opportunity to go to evening mass on March 16th, the night before St. Patrick’s Day. For more information about the Church, mass schedule, and COVID-19 restrictions, click here. 
3. See Kila in Concert: Kila is an Irish band made up of 8 members, formed in the 1980s. Fans describe their music as contemporary Irish World music, due to the use of their own Irish (Gaeilge) lyrics, and Irish folk instruments such as whistles, fiddles, Uilleann pipes, congas, and mandolins. The concert takes place on March 12th at 6:00pm at the Opderschmelz Cultural Center located in Dudelange. For more Information about the location, ticket prices, and Kila, click here.
4. Make a Traditional Irish Dinner: Irish food is simply amazing, and you can celebrate by making one of their traditional dishes. A few of our favorite recipes include: Irish Stew, Favorite Irish Soda Bread, Guinness Beef and Onion Pot Pie, and Traditional Irish Potato Pancakes. 

Some useful Irish words and phrases

Happy St. Patricks Day 
Lá Fhéile Pádraig faoi mhaise duit!’ 
Pronounced – Law A-la Paw-rick fwee vah-sha gwit’

St. Patrick’s Day wishes to all 
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir 

The Craic (pronounced Krak) was mighty
We were having great fun, laughter, banter, amusement

Hooley
An Irish party usually with music, singing, dancing and plenty of craic

Buladh bos
Pronounced Boo La Boss
This means applause and spoken vivaciously as a “well done”.
e.g Buladh bos to the Royal couple playing Gaelic football and hurling for the first time.

“Sláinte”
Pronounced “slawn-cha”
Use this to say “Cheers”. 
It translates as “Health.”