Ireland day 1266. Monday 17 March 2025- Paddy

Today’s summary	Had a quiet morning in the flat then Val went to do an afternoon’s work at the Museum while I completed my usual “Hill and Coast” walk. I checked out the St Patrick’s Day parade along the way. Lamb casserole from the freezer for dinner, and another couple of episodes of “Mad Men” to round off the evening.
Today’s weather	Overcast and grey. Strong cold easterly wind. Appx 7c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Paddy's Hill on Paddy's Day

Commentary

“Well the sun didn’t shine but at least it wasn’t raining” – that overheard snippet of conversation seemed to summarise St Patrick’s Day today in Ireland perfectly. St Patrick’s (or Paddy’s) Day is to Ireland what Hogmanay is to Scotland – so it’s a Big Thing. There are always lots of parades and general fun and games and Malahide, in common with much of Ireland, was pulling out the stops to celebrate. And despite the weather – it was very cold and windy, as well as being overcast – it seems to have been enjoyed by all and sundry.

But first of all, we had the day’s preparations to attend to. Val was doing a half-day at the Museum in the afternoon, so we had a quiet morning catching up on the news and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee. At about 12:30, Val set off, packed lunch in hand, to work and I set about tackling my Spanish homework. There’s no Spanish lesson this week, as our teacher is away, so we have been given a double dose of deberes to cover the gap. Anyway, I managed to make a start – it’s more of the dreaded subjunctive – but after an hour I’d had enough and decided to call it a day for now. I’ve still got a week left to do the rest, so it can wait.

Once I’d done my Spanish penance, I decided to go out and take a look at the festivities, which I could tell from the general commotion outside were just getting into swing. I thought that a walk up Paddy’s Hill would be an appropriate component of my Paddy’s Day, so I walked through the demesne and up Seamount to the top of the hill. After dropping back down to the shore at Portmarnock, as I walked towards Malahide, I met the parade coming the other way along the Coast Road. Certainly, a lot of effort had gone into the show, and there was plenty of noise and colour. I did feel a bit sorry for some of the more skimpily-clad parade-ers, as it was very cold. Someone should have warned them that this was Fingal, not Rio.

Once I reached the town centre, I battled my way through the crowds to go to SuperValu to get some milk and then made my way back to the flat – semi frozen, but pleased to have seen the parade. Val arrived soon after me and, as the museum is a bit chilly at the moment because the heat-pump isn’t working properly, we put the central heating onto boost to help us both warm up a bit.

For dinner, we had the last of the lamb casserole that I’d made and frozen a couple of weeks ago, then settled down with some beers to enjoy another couple of episodes of “Mad Men”. So all in all, not a bad day – even if it was a bit chilly!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


What a lovely surprise! These beautiful flowers arrived this morning and were sent by our friends who stayed with us last week. A kind thought and much appreciated	Excited crowds making their way to the parade

Jackdaws hanging out on the coast path. I think they are jackdaws rather than rooks because they have a slightly smoother coat. Rooks are more ruffled in appearance. Crows are much bigger than either rooks or jackdaws, and are usually solitary	First (and only!) cowslip I’ve seen so far this year. This one was on Paddy’s Hill. A couple of years ago there were thousands. Maybe they’ll appear in a few weeks

*Fragrant Viburnum x bodnantense* (aka Arrowwood) putting on a good display along Limetree Avenue**	It’s been a long daffodil season this year. Some of the showiest specimens are only just starting to come into bloom

Remarkably long legs on show for St Patrick’s Parade