St. Patrick's Day

March 17          

          We arrived in Galway from Killarney late Monday night and went straight to our hostel for some much needed rest after our long day of biking and traveling. Rest is not what we got though. When we got into our room one of our roommates was in there getting ready to go out on the town. It was at this point, when all we wanted to do was shower and go to sleep that she decided to talk our ears off about her entire life, all the while trying to convince us to go out partying with her. She took over an hour to get ready and during that whole time she told us how great her life was, hardly ever asking us a question about our lives. After what seemed like forever, her mouth closed and she left, allowing us to finally get some sleep. Except a good night sleep was not exactly what Kathleen got. Instead Kathleen was rudely awakened at 5 a.m. by the same girl who annoyed us all evening long by shining the flashlight on her phone in Kathleen’s face for a good thirty seconds. While Kathleen awoke to a bright light, I was startled awake by a nightmare. Even though the day did not get started as well as we hoped, we looked on the bright side: it was St. Patrick’s Day and we were celebrating the day in Ireland, truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Once ready in our green attire, we headed downstairs for some breakfast. When we arrived in the hostel kitchen there was only bread, butter and one type of jam to eat. Bread is not breakfast! Disappointed by the lack of breakfast, we ate the only option of toast, and headed out onto the main street to meet up with our other Saint Mary’s friends for the parade and other festivities. The parade was adorable. It consisted mainly of community organizations,  school clubs and sports teams, very family centered. After the entire parade finished, us and everyone else on the streets made their way into one of the many pubs. Knowing how little food I had in my stomach, I was not up for drinking a beer at noon, so I opted out for a while. Watching other people drink is only fun for so long, so needless to say I was itching to get out of the poorly lit, packed pub. I returned to the hostel to put some urgent school related affairs in order, but unfortunately it didn't go as planned and it put a damper on my day. After getting a little upset as we left the hostel to walk through a different side of town, I pulled myself together and Kathleen and I rejoined the group back at the mall. The mall also had St. Paddy's themed activities, which explained why it was so crowded. Very hungry we decided to meet at a pub for dinner in about an hour's time.

Watch a short video of the parade!

First Guinness! Slainte!

Our friends went back to their hostel for a quick rest and Kathleen and I wandered the festive streets, listening to musical performers and watching drunken people behave wildly. Upon reaching the pub, our friends had already finished eating, so we quickly ate our meal and then collectively went to a livelier pub for some drinks. It was at this next pub that I tried my very first Guinness in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, but first I got caught talking with an old Irishman at the bar. He was so sweet and talkative and even helped me get the bar tender's attention. Finally after over 10 minutes at the bar, I had my Guinness. The thick, frothy taste was a bit over powering at first but it grew on me. Done with our drinks, Kathleen and I strolled down towards the bay and sat near the edge on a stone bench and had some much needed time to just sit and talk. In the end it turned out to be a good night with some friends on Ireland's favorite holiday. We went back to our hostel, where thankfully the talkative, insensitive girl had already checked out, and got a decent night's sleep, which was good because I was ready to go back to Maynooth in the morning.