On Monday 17 March 2025, Irish people worldwide - including in Luxembourg - will celebrate their National Feast Day, better known as St Patrick’s Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig).

There are many myths and legends associated with Ireland’s patron saint, who is believed to have converted the Emerald Isle to Christianity and banished all snakes from the island.

Surprisingly for many, St Patrick was not in fact Irish. It is believed that he was born to wealthy parents in either Wales or southern Scotland around 386 A.D. and named Maewyn Succat. At sixteen years of age, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. He spent the following six years in slavery, to a chieftain in Co. Antrim, tending sheep and working mostly in isolation.

During his captivity, he saw visions and heard voices guiding him to escape, which he succeeded in doing. He fled to England and spent the following fifteen years studying religion, before being ordained a bishop and given the name Patricius. He later wrote that his faith was formed as a result of his time in Ireland. During his religious training, an angel visited the saint and asked him to return to the then pagan country to bring the message of Christianity to the people. His knowledge of Ireland’s customs and language helped him on this mission and he successfully converted many people, including influential leaders, before his death on 17 March 461 A.D.

St Patrick wrote two short works, “Confessio” and “Epistola”, from which we get most of the information on the saint.

Among the many legends associated with St Patrick is that he banished snakes from Ireland. Indeed many images of the saint depict him with snakes at his feet. However, it is much more likely that the snakes were a metaphor for the evil and non-Christian way of life that St Patrick conquered in the country. He is also frequently pictured holding a shamrock, which he used as a symbol to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. The three leaves of the shamrock represented the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the stem uniting them as one Holy Trinity.

The active Irish community in Luxembourg have many opportunities to celebrate their national feast day in the Grand Duchy. These include:

- the Zeltik Festival, celebrating Celtic music from countries such as Ireland and Scotland, takes place in Dudelange from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 March 2025;

- the Luxembourg branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will host both a children’s and adult’s St Patrick’s Day Céilí (big dance) at the Centre Culturel Cessange on Saturday 15 March 2025;

- a St Patrick’s Day Mass will be celebrated in Église St Pie X in Luxembourg-Belair (112 Avenue Gaston Diederich) on Sunday 16 March 2025 at 11:00;

- the Irish Embassy in Luxembourg will host a lunchtime reception for invited guests at Cercle Cité in Luxembourg-Ville on St Patrick’s Day, Monday 17 March 2025;

- the Irish Club of Luxembourg will host a black-tie Gala Dinner in Hotel le Royal in Luxembourg-Ville from 18:30 on St Patrick’s Day;

- an Irish Folk concert, featuring The Black Velvet Band, will take place on St Patrick’s Day at Veräinshaus Garnich (6 Rue des Sacrifiés) at 19:00. Entry to the event is free. Reservations not required;

- St Patrick will also be celebrated with traditional Irish music and food at Hôtel Cornelyshaff in Heinerscheid (83 Haaptstrooss) on Friday 21 March 2025;

- Irish pubs in Luxembourg and beyond will be gearing up for a very busy weekend, including the screening of three games of the 6 Nations rugby tournament on Saturday 15 March;

- the Blackstuff Irish Pub in Luxembourg-Pulvermuhl will have live music to entertain patrons, as well as a Celtic Fish and Chips foodtruck, on Monday 17 March;

- ÉireLux Irish Pub also has a lineup of live music, food and drinks during St Patrick’s weekend at its premises in Howald (42 Rue des Bruyères);

- a St Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl in Luxembourg city will start at 20:00 at the Shamrock Pub Royal (49 Boulevard Royal) on St Patrick’s Day;

- the British and Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) runs from Saturday 22 March until Saturday 29 March 2025 and will include the Irish documentary Patrick-a Slave to Ireland which offers a European perspective on the life of St Patrick. It will be screened at Ciné Utopia in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg on Saturday 29 March 2025 at 19:00. Ticket prices are €7 for children and €10 for adults and are available at: https://www.luxembourg-ticket.lu/en/8/eid,66846/patrick-a-slave-to-ireland-%28biffl%29.html

HOM