Munich's Irish celebrate their national holiday, St. Patrick's Day 2025
With a large festival and a Green Parade, Munich's Irish celebrate their national holiday, St. Patrick's Day – which is celebrated in Ireland every year on March 17th.
Event tip: 27th St. Patrick's Day Festival 2025 on March 15th & 16th in Munich around Odeonsplatz – the grand parade starts at 12 noon on Sunday with an adapted security concept.
Munich. Munich is under the sign of the green Irish shamrock. The annual St. Patrick's Day Festival in Munich is the largest celebration of the Irish national holiday on the European mainland. Every year in March, a grand parade takes place on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day (which is celebrated in Ireland on Monday, March 17th). The celebrations will take place around Odeonsplatz on two Irish days with music and dance under the motto: "Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh," which means "Happy St. Patrick's Day" in Irish! Stages have already been set up at Odeonsplatz. This is where the green festival will take place, featuring Irish music, Irish specialties, and fun-filled socializing. The program of music and folklore groups performing here on Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16, is listed below. Since 1996, Munich has celebrated the weekend before St. Patrick's Day on March 17.
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| Musiker auf der Bühne beim St. Patrick's Day 2019 - Foto: Helga Waes - Pressearchiv |
A special Irish-Bavarian connection was established with the opening of the Irish Consulate General in Munich in 2024
Ireland opened its Consulate General in Munich in 2024. The current Consul General, James C. O'Shea, is supporting the St. Patrick's Day Festival 2025. His 16-year-old daughter, Nina Caitríona, will take on the honorable role of Parade Princess this year.
Munich's Wolfgang Schramm will take on the famous role of St. Patrick, leading the parade on Sunday (see below) together with the Grand Marshal and the "Parade Princess." Munich's Mayor Dieter Reiter is once again the patron of the celebrations this year. The organization was handled by the Munich Irish Network e. V. (MIN) and volunteers.
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| Irische Musiker in traditionellen Kilts nach der St. Patrick's-Parade - Foto: Helga Waes - Pressearchiv |
The grand, green parade on Sunday, March 16, 2025, will be the highlight of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations
The St. Patrick's Day parade begins at noon at Münchner Freiheit. Around 70 dance, music, and folklore groups, with approximately 1,500 people, are scheduled to participate. The route will take the procession from Münchner Freiheit along Leopoldstrasse and Ludwigstrasse, past the Ludwig Maximilian University, and finally to Odeonsplatz. Wolfgang Schramm embodies the figure of St. Patrick in the parade and will lead the procession along with the female Grand Marshal and the "Parade Princess."
The parade, which honors the Irish national saint, St. Patrick, will feature traditional marching bands, flag bearers, bagpipers in traditional kilts, various sports clubs, and traditional costume and folklore societies. We can look forward to seeing the large glasses shaped like the typical Irish shamrock, the Highlanders and rugby players, many knightly medieval fans, and leprechauns – those green-clad nature spirits with their large green huts, who live throughout Ireland as the shoemakers of the fairies!
In addition to music from Irish groups, food stands will offer Irish specialties.
Guests can especially look forward to a performance by the Owen Gerrard Band, which will travel all the way from Dublin and will be joined by two Milanese musicians, Daniele Morelli and Luca Cantelli. And presumably, Munich's Mayor Dieter Reiter will be there on Sunday for the greenest weekend of the year. standing on stage and playing guitar with the Paul Daly Band.
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| Musiker auf der Bühne beim St. Patrick's Day - Foto: Helga Waes - Pressearchiv 2019 |
27th St. Patrick's Day 2025 in Munich
Open-Air Festival at Odeonsplatz
Date
- Saturday, March 15, 2025 - 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM
- Sunday, March 16, 2025 - from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Further information about St. Patrick's Day 2025 in Munich can be found on the official website:
- www.stpatricksday.de
Program for the St. Patrick's Day Festival 2025 on March 15 & 16, 2025
Saturday, March 15, Feldherrnhalle Stage
- 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Dempsey & McClenaghan Irish Folk
- 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Augusta Ceili Band Traditional Irish Dance Music
- 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Owen Gerrard Band Irish Singer/Songwriters
- 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. The Monks German-Australian Pop-Rock Cover Band from Munich
- Sunday, March 16, Feldherrnhalle Stage MC: John Dunne
- 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Celtic Invasion Six-piece Irish Folk Band from East Cork
- 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. The Burning Biscuit Band Munich Acoustic Quintet (Folk, Country, Blues, Rock & Pop
- 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Cellarfolks Irish Speed Folk from Munich
Sunday, March 16, Odeonsplatz North Stage
- 1:00 PM - 1:40 PM: "Cór na nGael" National Anthem & Speeches
- 1:50 PM - 2:30 PM: Dieter Reiter & Paul Daly Band: Irish & International Folk with the Mayor on guitar
- 2:35 PM - 3:10 PM: Sequel: Irish folk-rock band from Munich
- 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM: Owen Gerrard Band: Irish singer/songwriters
- 3:50 PM - 4:15 PM: Rince O'Chroi & Sweeney McAvinchey: Irish Dance School Performance
- 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM: Celtic Colleens: Irish Dance Ensemble from Munich
- 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM: Emerald Dancers & Summerstorm Dance Company Irish Dance Performance
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM Munich Céili Band: Traditional Irish Dance Music
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| Guinness gab es auf dem Wittelsbacherplatz - Pressefotoarchiv 2019: Helga Waess |
Munich's St. Patrick's Day celebrations have been taking place since 1996.
Every year, volunteer members of various associations organized under the umbrella organization of the Munich Irish Network e.V. organize this green weekend in Munich.
For many years, Munich's Mayor Dieter Reiter has been the patron; he and the City of Munich's Department of Labor and Economic Development support the festivities.
Munich Tourism, Events and Hospitality offers support in organizing, public relations, and designing the event.
- Tourism Ireland,
- the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme,
- Augustiner, Bushmills, Guinness, and Otto Pachmayr also make important contributions to the success of the event.
Bavaria and Ireland have another nice thing in common:
both have an area of approximately 70,000 km², making them almost the same size.
