Our Managing Director Janet Redler enjoyed a four-day tour of Ireland thanks to Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s National Tourism Development Agency, and Tourism Ireland. The highlight of the trip was taking part in the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in Sligo, in northwest Ireland, but experiencing the International Band Parade Championship in Limerick came a very close second! Here is Janet’s blog about the visit. 

A warm welcome at Dublin Airport

Like most international visitors to Ireland, my tour began in Dublin, with a warm welcome at Dublin Airport. It’s always exciting arriving in Ireland as you just know a good time awaits!

One of the first things to do when you get to Ireland is to enjoy some traditional Irish hospitality and, for me, a warming bowl of Irish Stew followed by a delicious homemade scone and cream were perfect for satisfying the appetite after a morning of travelling.

An early start next day saw us on the way to Brú na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ireland's Ancient East, which is less than an hour’s drive north of Dublin.

Brú na Bóinne is Ireland’s richest archaeological landscape and is situated within a bend in the River Boyne. It is famous for the spectacular prehistoric passage tombs of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth which were built around 3,200 BC. These ceremonial structures are among the most important Neolithic sites in the world and contain the largest collection of megalithic art in Western Europe. The whole site really is something special!

First sight of Newgrange in the distance

Our accommodation for the night was the newly refurbished 4* Sligo Park Hotel and Leisure Club, a contemporary-style hotel in lush landscaped parkland, a mile from Sligo. We received a wonderful welcome – the room was beautiful, the Irish coffee was amazing and the shamrock helped to get us in the mood for St Patrick’s Day, which was the next day.

Sligo Park Hotel

St Patrick’s Day is held on 17th March and parades and celebrations take place all over Ireland. The wet weather could do nothing to dampen our spirits as anticipation built for the parade through Sligo.

The festivities really were fantastic and we enjoyed parading with our group of Meitheal Buyers. Meitheal is the largest and most important trade event for Irish tourism and brings international buyers face-to-face with hundreds of Ireland’s tourism businesses each year. We were heading off to Meitheal 2023 in Kerry after our tour.

Holding our banner for the St Patrick’s Day Parade – that’s me on the right! 

Scenes from the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Sligo

We finished our day with a wonderful Moon River Cruise on the River Shannon where we could sit back and reminisce about our first St Patrick’s Day in Sligo. (Take a look at my Facebook Reel.)

Birr Castle

The next day saw us at Birr Castle Demesne, in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands – a well-kept secret! The award-winning gardens are rich in plant life, along with peaceful walks and views of the lake.

Birr Castle Gardens

However, Birr Castle also boasts a science museum, a modern radio telescope and the Leviathan reflecting telescope, which dates back to 1845 and was the largest telescope in the world for 70 years. I enjoyed my visit so much!

The Leviathan Telescope at Birr Castle

As we approached the end of our tour, one of the highlights for me was still to come, and that was the Limerick International Band Championship, which was spectacular! We cheered on the bands as they marched through the city competing to be crowned international band champions.

Limerick International Band Championship

The yearly event, which forms part of Limerick’s St Patrick’s Day Festival, sees the streets filled with the sights and sounds of talented marching band musicians from across Ireland, Europe and America competing for Ireland’s only international band championship.

Oklahoma’s incredible Pride of Bixby Marching Band were crowned overall winners of the 51st championship. (See my Facebook Reel.)

Pride of Bixby Marching Band winners of Limerick International Band Championship 2023

This was a truly delightful tour which allowed us to enjoy the best of Ireland over the St Patrick’s Day weekend – the perfect time for visiting if you really want to celebrate Irish heritage and hospitality. Thank you to Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and all the local organisations and tourism businesses which made our trip so special.

If you or your group would like to enjoy a tailor-made tour of Ireland on or around St Patrick’s Day, or indeed at any time of year, then please do contact our friendly team today.