Who’s Your Paddy…?

He has risen. Along with his little sister.

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 2022’s great big Paddy party was saved by the beautiful Rise mini-festival – after our traditional parade once again went down the Wuhan – 2023 saw a welcome return to the streets of Greystones.

We’ll be adding new treats to our St Patrick’s Day round-up over the coming weeks – before the parade, for example, there’s free face painting at Holohan’s SuperValu, from 9am to 11am, whilst on the music front, there should be some diddley-aye up at The Horse & Hound in Delgany from 1.30pm and Robbie Doyle from 4pm, whilst Robinson’s have Sonic Terra from 3pm to 5pm followed by Gerry The DJ from 7pm and Lee’s has some diddley-aye trad too from 3pm. To get everyone in a rockin’ mood, Lee’s will have Jorum in de house on Monday night too.

There’s also a mini-music festival down on Church Road at end of this year’s parade, kicking off at 12pm, and for any true Irish people in the town, there will be a great big mass at The Holy Rosary at 10am, with this year’s Grand Marshall joining The Irish Choir.

For those keen to get in the diddley-aye mood early, there’s always The Beach House sessions on Tuesday nights (with the dreaded Dann’s Disciples), The Horse and Lee’s on Wednesdays and The Grove Bar on Thursdays.

And if you’ve got the luck of the Irish, Flooring Online are running a St Patrick’s Day competition for a free landing and stairs carpeting giveaway. Details here.

Also getting us in a good mood for the big day, on Monday from 12pm to 3pm, Arboretum Kilquade will be hosting a free family fun day with face painting, balloons and giveaways. Sure, where else would you be going on a St Patrick’s Monday…? More Arboretum shenanigans here.

A fine Greystones tradition on St Patrick’s Day is the hearty buffet breakfast at the Scout’s Den on Trafalgar Road – Google Maps here – normally running from 9.30am to 1.30pm. Only given that the parade kicks off at 11am, it’s grab agus go breakfasts outside again this year. It’s 2 sausage rolls for €3.50; 2 rashers for €3.50; a dirty big breakfast rolls for €5. Tea agus coffee too, of course – the perfect way to start any diddley-aye day. Details here. And while we have you there, the 1st Wicklow Scouts Greystones Scouts will be at their den on Church Road (just up from Centra) with fundraising cakes, sweets agus other assorted treats from 10.30am to 1pm.

It’s been a long, long time since the younger generation had somewhere to get down and get with it, and so the freshly-minted Fuse Teen Events have come up with two St Patrick’s Day goodies – a teen disco on Friday 20th for 1st and 2nd years, and a Club Night on Saturday 21st for 3rd and 4th years. Both nights run from 8pm to 10.30pm at The Parkview Hotel, and you can grab your €20 tickets here.

Yvonne at Greystones Momma has unleashed a special limited edition vegan treat with Paddy’s Day Twix, available just for the week that’s in it. Yowsa!

And amongst those keeping us all fed and watered on the day, the likes of Chakra opening at 12pm and Mamo’s Pizza opening from 3pm to 8pm, whilst The Barrel Sauna down at the harbour will be giving your head some peace from 9am to 10.30pm.

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

The Greystones & District St Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is looking forward to welcoming the community to this year’s much-loved parade taking place on Tuesday 17 March, kicking off at 11am sharp.

With this year’s theme A Celebration By The Sea, the parade will celebrate Greystones’ rich maritime heritage and promises a vibrant morning of creativity, music and community spirit for residents and visitors alike.

The committee is encouraging everyone to come along early, enjoy the atmosphere and support the many schools, clubs, businesses and community groups taking part in the celebration.

Parade Details
The parade begins at 11am sharp from the South Beach Car Park and will travel through the town, finishing at the Marina. For anyone dropping off participants to the starting area, please note there is a drop and go system in place.

This year’s theme is A Celebration By The Sea, as we salute Greystones’ rich maritime heritage. Live entertainment will follow on Church Road after the parade. Keep your eyes peeled for our Parade Grand Marshals Dermod Dwyer and Grainne McLoughlin, who will be leading this year’s celebrations.

Quiet Zone / Relaxed Space
In partnership with AsIAm and Greystones Autism Friendly Town, a Quiet Zone will again be in place during the parade.
This area will run from the pedestrian crossing at the South Beach tunnel entrance up to Lam’s. Within this space, parade participants will reduce noise levels to create a calmer environment for those who may find loud sounds overwhelming.

The Quiet Zone helps ensure the parade can be enjoyed by as many members of our community as possible.

Road Closures
In place from 10.30am to 1pm
R762 Mill Road and R762 Church Road
Closed between the Mill Road Roundabout (junction with the R774) and the junction with R762
Victoria Road.
R762 Victoria Road
Reduced to one lane with a stop/go system between the junction with R762 Church Road and Beach Road. This will allow access for residents and emergency vehicles to the eastern side of the railway only.

Car Park Closures
The following car parks will be closed from 5am to 1pm on March 17th:

• Municipal Park & Ride
• South Beach Car Park

Due to the Church Road closure, you will not be able access the carparks along the Church Road/main street until after 1.30pm. The parade committee encourage spectators and participants to walk and leave the car at home if they live close by. There will be parking available at Eire Og, Shoreline and the Rugby Club.

The committee extends sincere thanks to our Grand Marshals for 2026, Grainne McLaughlin and Dermod Dwyer, and to Core Credit Union, headline sponsor of the parade, and to event partners Greystones Municipal District, The Burnaby, The Beach House, Schnittger Bourne, Merit, Codling Wind Park, The Dogfather Mobile Dog Grooming, Higcon Construction & Renewables Ireland , Vicks, Mrs. Robinsons and Charlesland Shopping Centre for their valued support.

In Newtown, the parade kicks off at 12pm, starting at the Covid Centre and finishing at the Parkview, where the after-party will kick off at 1.30pm. Boom!

In Bray, with the parade kicking off at 2pm, the feckers think they’re better than us by having a feckin’ 5-day festival, running from Friday 13th to Wednesday 18th. Show-offs.

For all the Paddy’s Parade junkies out there, other Wicklow starting times are Arklow at 2pm, Aughrim at 11.15am, Baltinglass at 12.30pm, Blessington at 12pm, Carnew at 12.30pm, Rathdrum at 12pm and Wicklow Town giving everyone a lie-in with a 3.15pm kick-off. In Dublin, it’s 12pm.

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 GG HQ on email on [email protected] or by phone right here.

Main thing is, on the day, you gotta be proud, be loud and, above all, be silly…

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