Virtual Pub Tour and Music Celebration

Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 5:30 PM EST

Everyone knows that the island of Ireland is the best place in the world to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. However, as overseas visitors can’t travel there, for now, this St Patrick’s Day Tourism Ireland will bring a taste of Ireland right into the homes of people everywhere around the world.

‘St Patrick’s Day at Home with Tourism Ireland’ will be a 90-minute broadcast on the evening of 17 March – from three of our best-known and much-loved pubs. Hosted by TV presenter Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, the event will be live streamed on social media from Johnnie Fox’s pub in the Dublin Mountains, as well as from Dick Mack’s in Dingle and the Duke of York in Belfast.

Tourism Ireland wants to give the Irish Diaspora and friends of Ireland around the world the chance to celebrate St Patrick’s Day from the comfort of their own homes. Featuring all the elements of a typical night out, it will be a cabaret-style event, with a huge welcome, traditional and modern Irish music and dance and, of course, great fun! It will even include two members of Riverdance showing Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh some steps from the iconic Riverdance show.

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “This St Patrick’s Day, we’re bringing the celebrations into the homes of the Irish community and friends of Ireland around the globe. Our message is that we can’t wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome our overseas visitors back to the island of Ireland, as soon as the time is right.”

The evening will open at Johnnie Fox’s pub in the Dublin Mountains, the highest pub in Ireland, with a performance by drumming ensemble, the Celtic Drummers. A master brewer from the Guinness Storehouse will show viewers how to pour a perfect pint from a can. Then, it’s over to the Duke of York pub in the heart of the Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, where the Shamrock Tenors, a new Northern Ireland-based five-piece harmony and multi-instrumental group, will combine their traditional Celtic melodies and modern-day vocals. In Dingle, the broadcast comes from the legendary Dick Mack’s, where singer and songwriter Róisín O will entertain viewers with her beguiling music and voice. Viewers will then join Denise Chaila and Sharon Shannon at the Cliffs of Moher, for a fantastic fusion of traditional Irish music and dance with modern-day Irish rap!