Erin Go Bragh! That phrase literally means, Ireland Forever! Those words strongly represent Ireland on flags and banners, yet in a popular old Scottish song it tells of a Highland Scot mistaken for an Irishman. Well, it is no mistake that every year St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in bed and breakfasts and country inns all over America. Brought to the United States by Irish-American immigrants, the first civic and public celebration was held in Boston on March 17, 1737.
American Historic Inns and ILoveInns.com have found a variety of festivities being held at inns around the country. So whether you are in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, or Minnesota…from Maine to California, innkeepers and guests alike at these B&Bs will be found wearing green!
The two-night Shamrocks and Soldiers Get-a-way package is available at Fairfield Inn on March 16 and 17, 2007 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Sip a glass of stout in the tavern, enjoy the Irish Feast for two and receive a complimentary CD of the area’s most energetic and spellbinding Irish Folk Band, Cormorant‘s Fancy. They will entertain you with Irish Jigs, Slow Airs & Reels and traditional folk music of the 18th and 19th centuries all performed live on period instruments. Gather for breakfast each morning, and take a two-hour Gettysburg battlefield tour featuring the March of the Irish Brigade.
Jim and Susan Rodiger offer a St. Patrick’s Weekend Special at Lakeshore Inn in Rockland, Maine with half off the price of the second night’s stay. Each morning they will serve an authentic Irish breakfast with such hearty fare that you will probably want to skip lunch. This inviting inn backs up to Dodges Mountain and overlooks Lake Chickawaukie.
Just can’t get away for the weekend? Try to attend one of these holiday-related culinary events:
A St. Patrick’s Day Beer Dinner will be served on Friday, March 16, in Havre De Grace, Maryland at the Vandiver Inn. This a very fun but elegant way to celebrate with a terrific menu featuring traditional Celtic and original courses, all cooked by chef and owner Susan Muldoon and paired with lagers, ales and other beers.
The Northfield Inn in the Green Mountains region of Vermont offers a complimentary corned beef & cabbage dinner and appropriate ablutions to their guests!! This centenarian Victorian mansion was once occupied by a princess and now all guests are treated like royalty.
Located in Stillwater, Minnesota, the Historic Water Street Inn begins celebrating St. Patrick’s Day weekend on Thursday, March 15 with the annual five-course Irish Whiskey Tasting Dinner & Smoker and continues all weekend with Irish Celebration Specials for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On Sunday, enjoy the Irish Beer Tasting Special with appetizer platters. Listen to live Irish music in Charlie’s Pub each night and on Saturday starting at noon. A second stage entertains in The Ballroom.
Will chants of Erin Go Bragh linger in your mind and leave you longing for more? Experience the luck of the Irish anytime at these three inns:
Be immersed in all things Irish at Innisfree-A Celtic B&B in South Bend, Indiana. Terry and Cindy Lewis offer a package available all year-round called The Total Irish Experience that includes dinner at Fiddler’s Hearth, an authentic Irish pub, and stay in one of the B&B’s inviting Celtic-themed guest bedrooms. Innisfree has participated in the local St. Patty’s Day Parade for the past two years.
Stay in the Emerald Room at A Wicher Garden Inn in Auburn, New York. An Irish carved mahogany bed and mementos from the Emerald Isle are accented by hunter green and lace. Photos of Ireland adorn the walls. Relax in the deep soaking tub with arm rests.
Debra and Tom Fitzgerald extend a touch of Irish hospitality at their award-winning Fitzgerald's Irish Bed & Breakfast in Cleveland, Ohio. Feel immersed in the castle-like Tudor architecture with a stone and brick turret, listen to Irish music and stay in a guest bedroom named after places in Ireland portrayed in artwork adorning the walls. Dunk fresh-baked scones in shamrock teacups. Waterford crystal, Royal Tara china and Belleek pottery add to the ambiance and a fiddle made in Ireland by a great-great grandfather has a place of honor. Still want more? Join other guests who travel to Ireland on tours with Tom and Debra in the spring and fall.
Many of the properties listed above are also in the best-selling bed and breakfast guidebook Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns with Buy-One-Night-Get-One-Night-Free Certificate. To learn more about the guidebook as well as additional Inns of interest, go to www.iloveinns.com.
About American Historic Inns and iLoveInns.com
American Historic Inns, Inc. (www.iloveinns.com), founded in 1981, is the leading publisher of bed & breakfast guidebooks, with more than 2.5 million bed & breakfast guidebooks sold, and runs iLoveInns.com, a top bed & breakfast and country inns directory listing 19,500 properties. Also, AHI is the industry leader in consumers’ goods sampling and promotions programs to bed & breakfasts and country inns.
Note: For photos and to set up interviews with bed & breakfast innkeepers, please contact Barbara Naylon at 949-497-2232, ext. 305.
