St Patrick’s Day in Temple Bar: Live updates from Dublin’s most famous pubs

Five things you didn't know about St Patrick's Day

Whether you're Irish or not, everyone loves celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day - a tradition worldwide that sees millions of people coming together to drink, dress in green, eat traditional Irish food and celebrate the country's heritage.

But if you can't, do the next best thing and join The Independent as it spends the day in Dublin's most iconic drinking area, Temple Bar.

Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a celebration in honour of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.

The day of celebration, which marks the day of Saint Patrick’s death, was originally a religious holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and made official by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century.

Observed by the Catholic church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church, the day was typically observed with church services, feasts and alcohol.

Alcohol consumption has always been an integral part of Saint Patrick’s Day as historically, the day was celebrated with a day-long lift of the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol - which has contributed to the present-day drinking.

Interestingly, Saint Patrick wasn’t actually Irish. He is believed to have been born in either Scotland or Wales and sold into slavery in Ireland as a child.

In 1903, Saint Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland.

This year, and every year, it is celebrated on March 17.

[17 March 2018 16:44 · Nicola Brady]

Want to know why Guinness tastes better in Ireland? It doesn’t have anything to do with how well it travels, but rather the strict process of quality checks that are in place. There’s a dedicated quality team who go around Ireland visiting each Guinness-serving pub every 23 days. They check the lines, the taps and finally, a pint, to check that everything is working up to par.

[17 March 2018 16:46 · Nicola Brady]

If you have issues with personal space, this is not the place to be. I have felt the constant touch of a human ever since I arrived. That said, it's helping with the cold.

[17 March 2018 16:57 · Nicola Brady]

And Ireland has won the Six Nations grand slam! The sun has come out in celebration. G'wan Ireland!

[17 March 2018 16:58 · Nicola Brady]

Scratch that, it's snowing again.

[17 March 2018 17:13 · Nicola Brady]

We've moved on to another location. When walking through the bar, a guy lifted a fistful of my hair and was rather annoyed when I told him not to touch me. Also, there's puke in the toilets.

[17 March 2018 17:34 · Nicola Brady]

People will tell you that nobody in Ireland actually says “Top o’the morning”. But that’s not entirely true, because my friend Brendan does. It started a few years ago as a joke, but now it rather suits him.

[17 March 2018 17:57 · Nicola Brady]

I've cheated a little and hidden myself away in one of the only cafés that's open, a Caffé Nero. It's amazingly calm in here. No one has pushed me. Everyone is speaking at a normal volume. I've had a coffee and I can feel my hands again. It's a fleeting moment of joy but I'm clinging on to it with every shred of my being.

[17 March 2018 18:13 · Nicola Brady]

I've heard my first Irish accent! A guy is up for the weekend from Cork, and he's the first one I've heard since entering the abyss. Oddly enough, no one was that keen to accompany me on this assignment. God bless Dena.

[17 March 2018 18:32 · Nicola Brady]

Let me talk about the toilet situation. It's pretty dire. I thought I was being clever getting in line in Caffé Nero, but I've been standing here for at least 25 minutes. And here's a life lesson - at a certain point, you don't want to go into a toilet that someone's been locked in for five minutes. I can't quit now, though.

[17 March 2018 18:50 · Nicola Brady]

We've gone to The Palace Bar, one of the finest old pubs in Dublin. It even looks like we might get seats! Well, probably not. But there are at least several inches of sweet, sweet freedom around my person. I feel like I'm ever so slightly cheating, but we are still technically in Temple Bar. Update: WE HAVE SEATS. And Dena's pint only cost her €5.20! It was €6.95 in The Temple Bar.