Dublin celebrates St Patrick's Day: a festive and cultural getaway in the capital

The Christian festival of St Patrick's Day, celebrated every year on 17 March, has been recognised as a bank holiday in Ireland since 1607. We often forget that St Patrick's Day is a Catholic festival before it is an Irish one.

Born in the fourth century in Great Britain, Saint Patrick was the son of a deacon, who kidnapped him at the age of 16 and enslaved him to an Irish druid. After years of hard labour as a shepherd in Gaelic Ireland, he managed to escape and began studying theology with the aim of becoming a Catholic priest. On his return to Ireland, he set himself the task of evangelising the whole country. To this day, the missionary is regarded as the founder of Christianity in the country.

Before it became Ireland's bank holidays, St Patrick's Day was recognised as a religious festival from the 17th century onwards. It then became a popular festival at the beginning of the 20th century, when the day became an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903. It was not until 1931 that the first parade took place in Ireland. Since then, every year on 17 March, Irish people all over the world have celebrated this day so dear to their culture.

Before the 18th century, the symbolic colour of Ireland was not green, but blue, like the rest of Great Britain, since the country was under British occupation. In 1921, when the occupation ended, Ireland naturally decided to adopt green as the symbolic colour of the nation, the colour representing the Society of the United Irishmen during the Irish-British conflicts.

Dublin is the country's largest city and the capital of Ireland. It is known as an extremely warm and friendly city, where life is good. This is even truer during St Patrick's Day, when the celebrations are in full swing on 17 March. If you're heading to Dublin to celebrate St Patrick's Day, you can also take the opportunity to explore the city and discover all its beauty.

If you're in Dublin to celebrate St Patrick's Day, take the opportunity to explore the city and its iconic sites in between pints of beer. Partying and culture go hand in hand!

Irish architecture is massive and imposing. You can't fail to be impressed by Dublin Castle. The building dates back to the 18th century and was the seat of British power in Dublin, Ireland's capital, until 1922.

You can't go to Dublin to celebrate St Patrick's Day without paying tribute to the most Irish of beers: Guinness. To do so, visit the Guinness Storehouse, the museum and production site of this legendary beer, a symbol of Irish culture.