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Im going to be in New York on St Patricks Day. Im irish so im really looking forward to it but dont really know what to expect. Whats it really like over there??? Do non-irish americans celebrate it?? Where are the best places to go? Best irish bars??? Is the parade special?? Or do the New yorkers just think its just another excuse for the irish to get drunk??
Im going to be in New York on St Patricks Day. Im irish so im really looking forward to it but dont really know what to expect. Whats it really like over there??? Do non-irish americans celebrate it?? Where are the best places to go? Best irish bars??? Is the parade special?? Or do the New yorkers just think its just another excuse for the irish to get drunk??
the parade can be fun but it is a big parade so go for a bit and enjoy, you might encounter drunken kids who cut school and come to the parade to get rowdy.
it's been a long time since I've done it and most of the irish bars are gone but a good time can be had on E 86st, that is the terminus of the parade and many of the participants stop in the bars for a taste or two after their march.
Im going to be in New York on St Patricks Day. Im irish so im really looking forward to it but dont really know what to expect. Whats it really like over there??? Do non-irish americans celebrate it?? Where are the best places to go? Best irish bars??? Is the parade special?? Or do the New yorkers just think its just another excuse for the irish to get drunk??
Nearly everyone in America, Irish or not, celebrates St Patricks Days to some extent. Like Mardi Gras and Christmas, it is a religous holiday that has largely become secularized.
New York is one of the better places to celebrate it. The parade is alot of fun.
As for imbibing, be prepared for crowds and silliness. While there are many of us who know the appeal of a good jar of Guinness, there are others who dye their lager green and think its cool. Just roll with it and you will have a good time. As you are actually Irish, I would think you will be rather popular that day.
The best Irish bars are probably in Woodlawn in the Bronx- they are full of actual Irish people such as yourself. But I doubt that is what you are coming to New York for. McSorleys is a favorite but will be a mob scene and then some. Try Paddy Reilly's or the Dublin House. Get there early and stake out territory. Truth be told, every bar will cater to St Pat's one way or the other.
Don't worry about being alone. You will make loads of "friends" that day. Have fun.
Is the parade special?? Yes, because this is New York, dammit!
Or do New Yorkers just think its just another excuse for the irish to get drunk??
Yes. Actually not many New Yorkers participate or watch the parade. It's mostly tourists and out-of-towners (most of the Irish moved out of the city to the suburbs and else).
People get drunk, really drunk and seriously drunk. The whole city becomes a drunken circus. Fights are normal. Vomit you'll find. At the end of the day, people don't even remember why they got drunk. Heck, they get drunk for the Irish on St Patrick, for the Mexicans on Cinco de Mayo, for the Puerto Ricans on Puerto Rican Day and for whoever else will make them drunk!
Don't worry, there are Irish pubs all over the city, in every block. For St Patrick's, even the Chinese restaurants become Irish.
I'll stay home safe.
Last edited by Manhattan-ite; 01-23-2008 at 10:34 AM..
Reason: info already given
Though I'm not Irish, I live in an Irish area(Bway and 252 street) and I always wear green for St Pat's day. I always liked irish people--they are great neighbors, don't mean to stereotype even if it's positive but that's how i feel. I was last at the parade back in 1997 as I went to a lecture and after i remember passing a lot of people celebrating or finishing up--was that year something bad happened in the streets?
I work with the mentally ill and every year our company hires a guy (I think from Eastchester) to play bagpipes for the patients. He played Paul McCartney's "Mull Of Kintyre" which was a hit in 1977 in the UK. When I had music appreciation groups for our patients on St pat's day I would always play Dan Fogelberg's(recently died) music for them because the songs sound irish
I've always enjoyed the parade but have never watched it... marched in it every year, actually when I was in a marching band we did it twice. Marched in the beginning & then hopped on the subay to the start & had to do it again.
The parade starts at 11AM & goes until after 5PM... a long day. The police have cracked down on the drinking along the parade route over the past few years, but that doesn't stop the kids from showing up with a load on. But by the end of the night it seems everyone has had a few.
I have always considered it an amateur night right up there with New Year's Eve.... I try to stay close to home after the parade.
Bay Ridge & Woodside have a slew of good Irish pubs. Then there are dozens of Blarney Stones peppered throughout Manhattan.
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