St. Patrick's Day Festival
St Patrick's Day on the Grote Markt in The Hague is the largest celebration of the Irish holiday in Europe outside Ireland! The free festival is lavishly celebrated with Irish dance groups and various live performances by Irish bands.
Programme
On Sunday 16 March, from early afternoon until just before midnight, this is the biggest celebration of St Patrick's Day in the Netherlands. Get ready to green up the city with the best Irish dance schools in Europe, big pints, great music, good laughs and even better dancing! Check out the full programme on the St. Patricks Day The Hague website.
Lá Fhéile Pádriag
What King's Day is to the Dutch, St Patrick's Day is to the Irish. 'Lá Fhéile Pádriag' is the ultimate expression of Irish identity. People commemorate the Irish patron saint St Patricius, who lived in the fifth century, on the days around 16 March. It is a public holiday (and therefore day off) in Ireland, the Caribbean island of Montserrat and the Canadian provinces of New Foundland and Labrador, which have traditionally been home to many Irish immigrants. The biggest St Pats parade is in New York, but the Irish bank holidays is also celebrated in a big way in Australia and many European countries.
13th edition St Patrick's Day festival in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the biggest St Patrick's Day celebration for 13 years will take place in The Hague, with a festival on the Grote Markt open to everyone free of charge. The St Patrick's Day festival has been organised from the very beginning by Irish Club of the Netherlands & Stichting Popdistrict together. Audiences can expect shows by Irish folk bands Noble Jacks, Bunch of Bastards and The Kilkennys, a whiskey tasting & dance performances by Europe's best Irish dance schools, among others. A large outdoor stage will be set up on the green-white-orange-topped Grote Markt in The Hague and there will also be plenty to do in the surrounding pubs.
About St. Patrick's Day
- St Patricius, or Paddy, according to legend, chased all snakes into the sea so that now there are no snakes in Ireland.
- He used a shamrock (3-leaf clover) to symbolise Catholicism's holy trinity. Now along with the Harp that appears on Guinness logo, among others, has become emblem of Ireland.
- During St Patrick's Day, some 13 million glasses of Guinness beer are drunk worldwide - more than double the normal daily amount.
- You MUST wear something green on St Patrick's Day. If not, you risk being pinched by leprechauns - dwarves with orange beards. Be warned: leprechauns populate the city in large numbers on this day.
Grote Markt The Hague
The Grote Markt is one of the liveliest parts of The Hague. The atmosphere on Grote Markt is always convivial and the nightlife crowd often creative and quirky. At the square in the centre of the city you will find various catering establishments offering something for everyone: from brown café to cocktail bar, from pop podium to restaurant.
Accessibility Grote Markt
The Grote Markt can be reached both by public transport and by car. The Grote Markt can be reached by tram lines 2, 3, 4 and 6, bus line 25, and a 15-minute walk from The Hague CS and HS train stations. The closest car parks are Parking Spui, Centrum and Turfmarkt.
