Sláinte! Virtual craic in Prague means food, music, and Petřín in green

A parade in Prague or an evening at one of the many Irish pubs in the city sadly isn't possible this year with the coronavirus restrictions meaning St Patrick's Day will, for the second year in a row, be celebrated in lockdown conditions.

While gatherings aren't permitted, it is expected that some landmarks across the city will be turning green to mark the occasion, with the Petřín Tower and Dancing House lighting up previously as part of the celebrations. The tower is confirmed to be turning green in what is known as "greening", the Irish embassy is also gifting an Irish Oak tree which will be planted in Petřín park.

Celebrations that will be taking place despite restrictions this week, include a virtual Irish dinner, with music, a comedian and Irish dancing, as well as a message to expats from An Taoiseach (the Irish Prime Minister),

The Czech Irish Business and Cultural Association will be putting on a "DIY virtual dinner" where people can eat alongside other expats via a video call. They are encouraging those interested to send photos to them on Facebook.

Paul Dubsky from the Association has been here since 1992.

"The Czech Irish Business and Cultural Association will be doing a DIY St Patrick's Day Dinner. Under normal circumstances, for the last 20+ years, we've had our big event in places like the Intercontinental Hotel or more recently in Grand Hotel Bohemia where we have anything from 100 to 300 guests and we'd bring in Irish bands, comedians, dancers and we'd traditionally also have a charity auction with the monies raised going to charities in the Czech Republic.

It is the second year that the Czech Republic will be in a state of lockdown on St Patrick's Day with March 2020 seeing the coronavirus take hold of the country. It means that the usual celebrations to mark the occasion will have to be altered once again.

"We didn't host St Patrick's Day last year, I think the lockdown took place three days before we were supposed to host the event, so we were very unlucky," continued Dubsky. "Last year it was such a shock to the system, we had to pull the plug literally days before the event. Nobody knew what was happening, we were all buying toilet paper, so we were all shellshocked and we didn't do anything for St Patrick's Day in the end at all last year.

The Irish Ambassador will be part of the call with the Irish Prime Minister on the day itself. Cliona Manahan is the Ambassador of Ireland to the Czech Republic and Ukraine. She wrote a letter to expats living in the Czech Republic that was sent out via email and will be published on the embassy social media pages.

She continued: "This year, our National Day is being celebrated online here in the Czech Republic and across the globe. St Patrick’s Day is a unique opportunity to renew our bonds of friendship around the world, underlining our heritage, history, and widespread diaspora."

While you might not be able to go to a parade or a pub and meet with others in person this St. Patrick's Day, there is still plenty of opportunities to have a good craic! Sláinte!