Ireland – Greening the World on Saint Patrick’s Day

Go green and keep a piece of the Emerald Isle in your heart this Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th.

Actor Liam Neeson lends his voice to this Tourism Ireland video to mark the greenest day of the year……  This video includes wonderful footage shot around the island of Ireland – at locations like Dingle, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle, Kilkenny Castle, Derryclare Lough, Newgrange and Titanic Belfast.

This short film is interwoven with images from Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative, which sees famous landmarks and iconic sites illuminated in emerald green each year on St Patrick’s Day.

Liam Neeson has said: “This year, more than ever, seeing the world turn green for St Patrick’s Day will help to bring positivity and hope to millions on 17th March. I’m delighted to work with Tourism Ireland on this film, which will act as a reminder of the beautiful island that awaits when it is safe to travel again.”

Greening the world on St. Patrick’s Day. 

From Brussels to Buenos Aires, Dublin to Dubai and from Sydney to San Francisco, a host of major landmarks and iconic sites will be illuminated in a shade of emerald green over the coming days – 2021 marks the 12th year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and around 670 sites in 66 different countries are signed up to take part.

Some of the famous attractions, sites and suppliers in the tourism industry around the world, which will join Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative this year to mark St Patrick’s Day include the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the village of Portmeirion in North Wales, Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, the London Eye, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid and many others.

We are all waiting patiently to welcome you back to Ireland – when the time is right………

Quirky greenings around the world

Some of the most quirky ‘Greenings’ this year include:

• The Tilted Sauna, also known as the ‘Drunken Sauna’, an abandoned sauna tilted on its side on Tampaja Lake, in southern Finland.
• Bjarke Cirkelsten in Denmark – a giant troll sculpture made from re-cycled wood, created by Copenhagen-based artist Thomas Dambo.
• A unique sauna cabin in the SkyWheel Helsinki where people can sweat and see the city sights at the same time!
• Jääsauna 52 – the first ever ice sauna in Tampere, Finland; the sauna’s 50-cm thick walls are made from the frozen water of local lakes and never melt, as the intense cold refreezes everything after use!
• A Volkswagen Beetle in the Volkswagen museum in Germany, which was built in Ireland in 1949.
• The Sekenani Gate – the main gate to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, in Kenya.
• A giant Kissing Couple XXXL statue located along the bicycle route between Amsterdam and Zaandam; the male is 8.6 metres high and the female is 8.1 metres high.

• A huge Smurf Statue in central Brussels.
• A solar giraffe – a solar power-generating structure in the shape of a giraffe, that provides power for the community of Mangunze, in Mozambique.
• ‘Mac the Moose’ in the city of Moose Jaw, in Saskatchewan, Canada – a steel and concrete sculpture of a moose, standing 32 feet tall.
• A Sleeperoo pop-up sleeping cube, made from sustainable materials, in central Frankfurt, Germany.
• The Equator Monument – the Equator sign and line in Kayabwe, Uganda.
• Perlan in Reykjavík – a futuristic, revolving glass-domed restaurant on the top of Öskjuhlíð hill in the Icelandic capital.
• The Big Fiddle of the Ceilidh – the world’s largest fiddle, on Cape Breton Island in Canada.
• A carp statue, called ‘Fridolin’, in the town of Höchstadt an der Aisch, in Bavaria.
• Le Dragon de Calais – a dragon machine in Calais, in northern France, that can breathe fire, water and diffuse mist; it weighs 72 tonnes, is 25 metres long and 15 metres high!

Light a Green Candle.

We are encouraging everyone to take part in the Tourism Ireland “Light a Green Candle initiative” for the St. Patrick’s Day @ Home event.

On March 17th, light a green candle at 7pm (GMT), take a photo or video and upload it to your social media handles and use #GlobalGreening to become part of the conversation.

Fill your heart with Ireland

Wherever you are across the globe, keep Ireland in your heart this St Patrick’s Day. The theme of this year’s Festival is Dúisigh Éire! Awaken Ireland!

It is a clarion call to the Irish across the world to throw off the long dark months and rise to embrace brighter days ahead. St. Patrick’s Festival 2021 takes place on a dedicated online TV channel SPF TV (St. Patrick’s Festival TV), which runs from early morning until late at night each day for 6 days.

Events are all free and do not require pre-booking. SPF TV can be viewed live globally at The Saint Patrick’s Day Festival and on the RTE – Culture website.

Most events can be replayed on their event page on www.stpatricksfestival.ie until March 21, 2021

Make a reconnection with Ireland and plan a vacation of a lifetime for 2022 with Specialized Travel Services.

Discover our native spirit, beautiful landscapes, buzzing cities, unique storytelling, and our warm Irish welcome. There is a special treasure trove in Ireland waiting to be explored and to find out more please don’t hesitate to get in touch  – There is always something really special here waiting for you to discover. 

Our “Gift of Ireland” gift certificates allow you to choose a customized vacation that is both personal and wonderful. There is flexibility to use our gift certificates for any of our travel services, including self-drive tours, escorted tours, private group tours and tailor made vacations. You can use the “Gift of Ireland” towards hotel accommodation, airport transfers, visitor attractions, a round of golf, afternoon tea, a medieval castle banquet or a romantic evening meal….. The list is endless. Plus they are valid for 5 years from date of purchase. The “Gift of Ireland” really is the special gift that keeps on giving!

Have a look at our private chauffeur vacations for even more ideas on what to visit in the land of 40 shades of green.

We love hearing from our friends around the world who share a passion for Ireland like our team here at Specialized Travel Services and we’re more than happy to answer your travel to Ireland queries. Just drop us a line at newyork@jeremyd50.sg-host.com

Note: Featured image at the top of the blog is of Belfast City Hall going green for St. Patrick’s Day. © Presseye.com Belfast. Photographer: Brian Thompson.