Who’s Your Paddy…?

Red is the colour….

t‘s a day when the whole town comes together to celebrate our Irishness and indulge in more than a little Paddywhackery.

Yep, the Greystones St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one great big party. 

And after last year’s great big Paddy party was saved by the beautiful Rise mini-festival – after our traditional parade once again went down the Wuhan – 2023 sees a welcome return to the streets of Greystones.

Two late additions to our St Patrick’s Day round-up – before the parade, there’s free face painting at Daly’s SuperValu, from 9.30am to 11.30am, whilst afterwards, there’s a gig down at Rise At The Cove, with traditional music from Cormac Breathnach and Martin Dunlea, Irish dancing by Scoil Rince Uí Bhrannagain and some young diddley-aye from the Kim Hayden Music Schools. There will also be some special guests, we’re told, so, be ready to run. Always.

For those keen to get in the mood early, there’s DJ Mark Flynn’s pre-Paddy’s Day disco shenanigans at The Hot Spot on Thursday 16th, from 8pm, with special guest Emmet Condon. Details here.

And on the big day, all the town’s hairiest folkies will be helped up the stairs at The Hot Spot at 4pm for the annual trad session, with the great and the good giving it their all in the name of Ireland. And maybe even a shift. Or, better still, a free pint. Details here.

Another fine Greystones tradition on St Patrick’s Day is a hearty buffet breakfast at the Scout’s Den on Trafalgar Road – Google Maps here – from 8am. It’s €10 per person or €35 for a family. A dirty big fry-up is the perfect way to start any diddley-aye day. Details here.

And talking of proper Irish food, at Eskimo, you can grab any 3 large pizzas for the price of two – just for Paddy’s weekend. Order your Irish-does-Italian yum here. At Domino’s, they’ve got green cookies and 30% off orders of €30 or more just for the weekend that’s in it too – more info here.

With our trusty municipal district gang dusting off their green lightbulbs for the occasion, businesses in the town are also been encouraged to go very green for the day. In your dress sense and your common sense.

Which leads us nicely into the line-up for the big day, courtesy of this year’s brave organisers, the Greystones Town Team…

The annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Greystones are just around the corner and the town is buzzing with excitement to Go Green – both in colour and sustainable, eco-friendly ideas. This year’s celebrations are expected to be bigger and better than ever before, especially that we’re long out of lockdowns.

The Parade will begin at 11am on St Patrick’s Day at the South Beach car park, before it makes its way along Greystones main street, finishing at the old cinema.

The parade will include marching bands, and a variety of local groups and organizations. Furthermore, we have commissioned a German brass band, Schoppeblaser, who are flying in for Greystones’ big day, bringing another layer of energy alongside the Tallaght Youth Band and Crumlin Community Band.

Our heroes in uniform – members of the Reserve Defense Forces, Wicklow Mountain Rescue, Greystones Fire Service, and Greystones and Wicklow Coast Guards – will lead the parade this year. They are proudly joined by Wicklow UN Veterans Association.

Local Boxers Kaci Rock and Tadhg O’Donnell are leading the way as Grand Marshals of this year’s Greystones St Patrick’s Day parade. Tadgh is a European Gold Medalist having won the Junior 66kg title in Italy last October, while Kaci is a European bronze medallist and a six-time National Champion. The duo will be leading the way in a vintage car.

“Greystones’ annual parade is a wonderful opportunity for the people of the town to come together and celebrate our rich cultural heritage,” says Cllr Gerry Walsh. “We’ve got a fantastic lineup of events planned, and we’re excited to welcome visitors from near and far to join in on the fun.”

Including, of course, our Welsh twin town, Holyhead, who have been working diligently on a large red dragon float that has already been, fittingly, a centre-piece to their own St David’s Day.

Information on road closures and diversions, bus rerouting, and park and ride bus facilities will be available on the greystones.ie website. Naturally, there will be very limited parking in and around the town on the day.

And the organisers can always do with an extra pair of hands on the day. To be part of Greystones’ St Patrick’s Day 2023 parade, please email events@greystones.ie.

In the meantime, for inspiration, you can check out the town’s previous St Patrick’s Day parades here and this year’s goodies here. And do send us in your pics and videos of your proud costumes and houses, and your humiliated pets, to hello@greystonesguide.ie.

Main thing is, on the day, be proud, be loud and, above all, be happy…

You can revisit our Paddy’s Day of old here, and find the Dublin parade details here.