Here are the best ways to spend St Paddy’s Day in Edinburgh

Ah, St Patrick’s Day. The day where English gammons bemoan the lack of St George’s Day festivities, and Irish Americans laughingly down cocktails called “Irish Car Bombs”.

But despite this, it is also a day of happy piss-ups where the wonderful Irish culture of getting royally fucked is happily shared around the globe.

Edinburgh is a surprisingly fertile spot to celebrate this day of Irish holiness and offers a multitude of opportunities for students to drink their hearts out to the joyous tones of Republican folk music.

Luckily for you, The Edinburgh Tab is here to offer a comprehensive guide to everything that you could and most definitely should be getting up to this Paddy’s Day:

Eat lots of Irish food

What better way to prepare for the day than to load yourself up with some tasty Irish grub. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can be covered with a collection of recipes developed in the heartlands of the Emerald Isle. Oh and it’s not all potatoes.

For breakfast, you could start the day with a Full Irish, which is very similar to the Full English. Just without all the history of imperialism and whiff of aristocracy.

To differentiate it fully from the English variation, just add a Farl to the side. If you’re not feeling up to something as hearty as that, you could always just have a quick bowl of porridge and fruit.

To fill yourself up for the big night, the dish of Irish Stew is ready to offer a good stomach filler. Alternatively, you could get started on depleting Edinburgh’s vast reserves of Guinness by dousing a perfectly good loin of pork with it.

A classic Irish lunch

Drink drink drink

What Paddy’s day is all about. On this front, the Irish have us covered with barrels of alcoholic bliss. Guinness needs no introduction, almost acting as the worldwide ambassador of Irish culture for hundreds of years. Yet, lying behind the bars of Edinburgh awaits a multitude of drinks awaiting your saintly joy.

Perhaps you’re willing to enjoy the humours of whiskey, which makes the old walk and the young talk. Then buy yourself a bottle of Jameson’s which offers just a glance at the elixir of life and will most definitely sink your sorrows and raise your joys.

Cocktail recipes that celebrate the joys of Ireland are also a very handy option to make at home. Here you could try your hand at creating concoctions like a Black Velvet (a mixture of Guinness and Champagne), an Irish Coffee (Coffee and Whiskey) or if you’re feeling adventurous a Luck of the Irish wouldn’t go amiss.

Yes, that’s whiskey with an ‘e’

All these will happily make for a legendary pres, just don’t forget to have a Baby Guinness before you leave for the bars. Slainte.

Listen to some music

No night of drinking would be complete without the music. Paddy’s day is no different. Luckily, the Irish have no shortage of tunes to get you in the mood and add to your Paddy’s Day Playlist.

For the old folk root you could crank up the speakers to allow for voices like the Dubliners to tell you all about the beauty that lies within the Emerald Isle. Let them regale you with the story of Michael in the Fields of Athenry and the tale of the Parting Glass. Alongside them, you could fit in the Wolfe Tones with defiant ballads of Irish pride.

For more recent additions to the Paddy day playlist, you could add bands and artists ranging from the growling punk of Fontaines D.C and the Murder Capital, the yearning indie rock of Hozier, the new wave of Irish rap artists like Chaila or Malaki (Cuppa Tea is a certified banger) or even the second best alumni of One Direction with Niall Horan.

Ed Sheeran is most definitely off limits and can simply fuck off. Galway Girl was the worst thing England has ever done to Ireland since the Troubles.

Do Phil proud and listen to some Irish bangers

Visit Edinburgh’s Irish Bars

Finally, the day is up and the night has come. The loosening period allowed by Irish themed pres leads to a crossroads where the direction of Irish festivities is unclear. Luckily, Edinburgh has a tonne of Irish bars to fill the night with Paddy’s day cheer.

Located on the Grassmarket, you can find Biddy Mulligans. A lovely bar with decently priced pints and more importantly an Irish vibe. Its booths provide solitude for groups of students to enjoy the vibe within the confines of their comfortability. Then just further up, lies Finnegan’s Wake. Another bar that offers the joys of Irish music and decently priced pints of Guinness.

The Three Sisters on the Cowgate is another specifically Irish option close to many of the clubs of Edinburgh. This huge bar with the courtyard and three floors of space is a great option to spend Paddy’s Day, what with its annual St Patrick’s Day festival. Drag queens, “craic’aoke” and tribute acts will be helping to up the Irish factors from 8am to 3am.

Surely, a place where the Cranberries would be happy to linger.

For a typically Irish end to the night, Dropkick Murphy’s provides the perfect option. Staying open to the early hours of 3am, the club is the optimum place to dance your heart away.

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