My mom’s family is very Irish. Her maiden name is Dockery and my uncle and his family lived in Ireland for about 12 years growing up.
So we like St. Patrick’s Day.
A few months ago I invited my sisters and brother in-law to Raleigh, since they hadn’t visited in a few months. Carrie, Andrew and Lucy came Saturday afternoon, and we proceeded to have a very festive St. Patrick’s celebration weekend.
Saturday evening we went to an Irish pub nearby, where we met up with our old friend and long-time neighbor Becca and her husband Brian. There were 7 of us for dinner at an Irish pub the day before St. Patrick’s Day, so it was no big surprise when the hostesses told us the wait would be 2 hours. We decided to grab a beer and enjoy the music and dancing in the tent outside.
Just half an hour later, I got a call that our table was ready. The luck of the Irish! We ate outside near the music in the warm 70-degree weather, and then went back to our place for some belated chocolate birthday cake for Carrie.
The next morning we relaxed on the patio with our coffee before heading to church. John Piper was speaking at our church (so good!), and afterwards we headed back for a homemade brunch. We ate a yummy frittata, yogurt parfaits and lingered around the table drinking coffee. We reluctantly said our goodbyes and they went on their merry way home.
That evening my sister in-law Katie came over to hang out. She had been out of town during the weekend and was sad to miss out on the family fun. So we decided to drop our errands and responsibilities and head back to Trali to see if there were more St. Patty’s festivities going on.
Of course, there was. :) We put green carnations in our hair, listened to the bagpipes and shared an Irish appetizer.
When I lived in DC, between having a long-distance boyfriend and my mom being sick, I traveled to North Carolina a lot. I drove that long five to seven-hour drive (depending on whether I was going to Boone or Greensboro) an average of once a month. I remember one formidable Friday afternoon it took two hours to travel from Silver Spring, MD to Northern Virginia, a mere 30-mile stretch.
It’s memories like that and weekends like this that make me so grateful to have my family close by.
Did you do anything to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
What a fun weekend! I went to a birthday party on Saturday with an Irish theme, so it was fun to get in the spirit.
Yes, it is wonderful to have you just down the road!
this is so fun!! my mom is from northern ireland but i totally forgot to celebrate st patrick’s day. (and last night I read a book by Noel Piper! hehe)