When you think of Ireland, one of the first things that comes to mind is St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, studying abroad here in Cork gave me the perfect opportunity to celebrate this holiday alongside the Irish!
Alex doesn’t drink, but she knows that I do. I normally drink enough for social lubrication and nothing more. On St. Paddy’s, though, I went a little past. Not enough to make any regrettable decisions, but enough for me to have a very exciting day!
Hanging Out with Friends and the Parade
Waking up, Alex and I decided to be people after all and go out into the world. My roommates told me that we were all meeting in the apartment building next door, where My Nick and Craig live. While they carried our coffee table and other goodies over there, I got prepared for arguably the most exciting day of my study abroad semester.
A water bottle of rum and coke, and I was ready to go hang out with our neighbors. We all just hung out talking, drinking, and killing time before the parade through the city centre at 1:00pm.
Now, here is where the day starts to get interesting. I remember walking to the parade with Alex and our big group of people, but I don’t really remember the parade. Alex took photos on my phone for me and I recall being in a large crowd, but all of the details of the parade are hazy to me.
McDonald’s and Naps
Given that Alex was sober and I was incapacitated, I am not at all surprised that my next clear memory was of us at McDonald’s. She really is the best babysitter: she kept track of me in the huge mass of people and gave me fries, all the while trying to get me to drink water.
Post-fries, Alex decided that I should go home and nap, and I decided that she should probably be in charge of making those calls. She half-carried me home, apparently with me being an absolute pain the whole time. I do recall several instances of telling her which way we needed to go, even though she already knew, and dropping an entire metal water bottle on her foot when she had me stop to hydrate.
It may have taken forever, but eventually we got home. Alex put me to bed and had me sleep for several hours while she watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and played around online.
Hanging Out with Friends
After I woke up, I managed to track down my roommates and found out that the group was going back to hang out with our neighbors. Alex and I tagged along once I got a drink together for myself (milder than that morning!). Once more, I found myself sitting on the arm of a couch next to Alex, surrounded by my friends and their friends, celebrating with fun, games, and music. After a while, we expected to be going out into the city centre, but that proved much more difficult than anticipated.
Going Out in the City
Getting everyone together and on the same page was definitely not easy. Everyone was so preoccupied with the fun at the apartment that most people didn’t want to go out at night. Two of my roommates, Caroline and Louisa, along with Alex and I were the only ones that wanted to go out at the end of the evening. Maybe we could’ve called it quits and stayed in with the group, but there’s no way that I could be in Ireland for St. Paddy’s and not go out! So, the four of us set out for an adventure together in Ireland’s second largest city!
The Spoons
Naturally, the first spot we had to hit was The Spoons for cheap drinks and food. Murphy’s Law struck once more here when the bartender informed me that they had no more pitchers for their drink deal left and that they were no longer serving food. I’m not sure why I thought I’d be able to get either of those commodities, but I didn’t feel too thrilled when I found out that both were busts. We hung out there for a little while and then we were off to our next location!
The Old Oak
The Old Oak is very popular among the international student crowd, so I knew it would probably only be worse on St. Patrick’s Day. What I didn’t know is just how much worse it would be.
When we got there, it was so packed that we could barely breathe, much less move. Somehow, we made our way up to the stage, but there was no way for us to actually enjoy our time there. Once we realized that, we decided that it was time to go. We all formed a chain so we didn’t lose anyone in the fray on the way out. We had a bit of a debate over where to go next, but in the end we decided that Chambers was our best bet for a good time.
Chambers
I’d only been to Chambers once before this wild ride of a day. It was a real disappointment at the time with little to do and very few people inside, but St. Paddy’s was an entirely different experience. We lost Louisa to exhaustion along the way, so Caroline, Alex, and I were the ones that ended up in Chambers. As a dancer, I often want to dance, especially when I’ve been drinking. I even managed to get Alex to dance with me, which was definitely a major breakthrough for her! We stayed for a couple hours and then Alex suggested that we head home. Overall, I’d say that I had a great time, and I got to cross something off of my bucket list: dancing at a gay bar with my girlfriend!
Overall Thoughts
I am so glad that I got to experience St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland! Having Alex with me was great because I got to share that experience with her and I could celebrate without worrying about being mom-friend. Yes, the party atmosphere was fun for a while, but I am glad that it’s over now.
My favorite part of the going-out was dancing with Alex at Chambers, but I wouldn’t say that was my absolute favorite part of the day. Of everything, that would have to be going home at the end of the night. Buying train tickets to Northern Ireland at 2:00am and then laughing about the day with Alex? I wouldn’t change that feeling for the world.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, today’s song is a real treasure! I hope you all have maybe picked up some ideas for what to do next year! If you can get to Ireland, I really recommend coming for this exciting holiday!