"Craic agus ceol"
Irish communities love to get together, enjoy the 'craic', and have the kind of party where everyone is welcome. If you're travelling alone in Ireland, and want to experience real Irish culture, you should be sure to find out what festivals are happening in the areas you visit.
You might be surprised by the number and variety of festivals in Ireland: we Irish don't need any excuse to get together and enjoy good company, good music and the occasional pint of Guinness. Popular and famous festivals include Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann traditional music festival, The Dublin Horse Show, Fairyhouse Easter Festival, the truly bizare Killorglin Puck Fair (where a goat is formally crowned king in the Kerry town of Killorglin), and the All-Ireland Finals in Hurling and Gaelic Football.
Some of the festivals have to be seen to be believed. There's The Rose of Tralee beauty pageant, a self-ironic throwback and one of Ireland's guilty pleasures, famously satirized as "The Lovely Girls Competition" in hit Irish comedy show, Father Ted.
Then there's the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, which has been finding spouses for shy farmers for as long as anyone can remember. Expect a fun, tongue-in-cheek pageant of innocent, semi-awkward flirting. It's good-humoured, unobtrusive and well-meant Irish fun.
Aside from these and other quaintly caricatured examples, each local community will have its own festivals, celebrating pretty much anything, and they're a great way to experience Irish culture, meet the locals, and find some unmissable photo opportunities to take with you. There will be dancing, drinking and plenty of laughter at them all so let your inhibitions go and get involved.
St Patrick's Day Festival and Parades
The most unmissable of all Irish experiences is St Patrick's Day, celebrated on 17 March every year not only in Ireland but across the globe. Traditionally a commemoration of Ireland's patron saint, St Patrick's Day has come to represent much more than this, becoming a unifying symbol of togetherness, acceptance and good-natured fun for individuals from all backgrounds. It's hard to imagine a mainstream festival better suited to the open-minded solo travel community.
