North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

La Fheile Padraig

Small statue of St. Patrick at the holy well on Abbey Hill, Co. Clare.

So…it's St. Patrick's morning and what should you do ? You could brave the Arctic conditions and stand in the street for a few hours to watch the parade. You could go to the pub and watch sport - Salthill-Knocknacarra and Portumna have the chance to win a double for Galway in the GAA club championship today in Croke Park [and may the Lord have mercy on us all if they win both - men will speak of the drinking that took place in a thousand years from now] - or indeed, you could do both.

You could do something else, of course. One thing we're not short of in the west, or indeed the country as a whole, is a list of places that St. Patrick was supposed to have visited, but probably didn't. So why not visit one of them today. Members of the Galway Walking Club are paying another visit to the Maumturks (they're probably half-way a hill up as I write this). I should really have gone with them - it would have been the 3rd time since Xmas and also the 3rd time I was there when it was snowing. Nestled in the middle of the mountain range is Leaba Phadraig - the bed of Patrick, and a cold stony one at that. You could climb Croagh Patrick, which would keep you out of mischief for the day, or even 'do the tour' , taking the traditional 22 mile pilgrimage from Aghagower to The Reek (which might keep you off the streets for a couple of days). If you visit any of these places today, you'll need to wrap up well - it's freezing. And you might notice that, in all of these places associated with St. Patrick, the celebration, or pattern, takes place in summer, usually in July. And you might ask yourself why the hell do we still have the great man's own day in March when it's always either cold or wet.

I'll post a few pictures from the Galway parade later today (if they're any good). Enjoy the day.

galway,st patrick,ireland, irishblogs,photoblogs,monasette

Posted by Monasette at March 17, 2006 10:51 AM