About this puzzle
Most St. Patrick's Day puzzles stop at shamrocks and pots of gold. This one has those, along with the Ireland that sits behind the green decorations: Dublin, the Celtic harp that appears on Irish coins, soda bread, the lively jig, and the Blarney Stone near Cork. Saint Patrick himself is here too. He was born in Roman Britain, not Ireland.
It suits a March classroom, a library display, or a family dinner with corned beef and cabbage on the stove. The notes clear up a few myths along the way, including why Ireland has no snakes, and why corned beef is more of an Irish-American dish than an Irish one. Older kids usually enjoy finding out the original color of the holiday was blue.
The 30 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Clover
- Shamrocks are young clover plants. Most clover leaves have three leaflets, so finding a rare four-leaf clover is said to bring good luck.
- Green
- Saint Patrick was once linked with a shade called St. Patrick's blue. Green took over later through the shamrock and the Irish independence movement.
- Harp
- The harp is the national symbol of Ireland and appears on Irish euro coins, the presidential seal, and the Irish passport.
- Ireland
- The island of Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. March 17 is a public holiday in both.
- Irish
- Irish describes the people, culture, and language of Ireland. Tens of millions of Americans report Irish ancestry, many descended from families who came in the 1800s.
- Leprechaun
- In Irish folklore, the leprechaun is a small, solitary fairy who works as a shoemaker and hides his gold. He is famous for tricking anyone who catches him.
- Lucky
- The saying luck of the Irish is heard often on St. Patrick's Day. Four-leaf clovers and horseshoes are popular good luck symbols on cards and decorations.
- Parade
- Spanish records show that in 1600 and 1601, residents of St. Augustine, Florida, processed through the streets to honor Saint Patrick. New York's parade dates to 1762.
- Pot of Gold
- Irish folk tales say a leprechaun's pot of gold waits at the end of the rainbow, a place no one can ever actually reach.
- Potato
- Potatoes reached Ireland from the Americas in the late 1500s and became a main food. When a plant disease ruined the crop in the 1840s, more than a million people left Ireland.
- Rainbow
- A rainbow forms when sunlight bends and reflects inside raindrops. Ireland's frequent mix of sun and showers makes rainbows a common sight there.
- Shamrock
- Legend says Patrick used the three-leaf shamrock to explain the Christian Trinity, though that story first appears in writing in the 1700s.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Bagpipes
- The Great Highland bagpipes are Scottish, but they march in many St. Patrick's Day parades. Ireland's own uilleann pipes are pumped with a bellows under the arm.
- Cabbage
- Cabbage grows well in Ireland's cool, damp climate and has long been a staple vegetable there, often boiled with bacon or mashed together with potatoes.
- Celtic
- Celtic refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and nearby regions. It is usually pronounced with a hard K sound.
- Dublin
- Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, holds a multi-day St. Patrick's Festival with a large parade through the city center.
- Fiddle
- A fiddle is the same instrument as a violin. The difference is in the style of playing, and fiddle music is central to Irish traditional sessions.
- Jig
- The jig is a fast, lively folk dance and tune. The most common Irish form, the double jig, is played in 6/8 time.
- Saint Patrick
- Born in Roman Britain in the late fourth or fifth century, Patrick was taken to Ireland by raiders as a teenager and later returned as a missionary. March 17 traditionally marks his death.
- Snake
- Legend says Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, but scientists say snakes never reached the island after the last Ice Age, so there were none to banish.
Added in Hard (10)
- Blarney Stone
- Set in the wall of Blarney Castle near Cork, this stone is said to give the gift of eloquence. Visitors lean backward over a drop to kiss it.
- Claddagh
- The Claddagh ring is named after a fishing village near Galway. Its design of two hands holding a crowned heart stands for friendship, love, and loyalty.
- Colcannon
- Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale and butter. In Ireland it is a favorite at Halloween.
- Corned Beef
- Corned beef and cabbage is mostly an Irish-American meal. In Ireland, bacon and cabbage was the more traditional dish.
- Emerald Isle
- This nickname for Ireland comes from the island's green landscape. It first appeared in a 1795 poem by the Irish writer William Drennan.
- Gaelic
- Irish, also called Irish Gaelic, is the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland. Happy St. Patrick's Day in Irish is Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit.
- Limerick
- Limerick is a city in western Ireland on the River Shannon. It shares its name with the funny five-line poem, though no one is sure how the poem got the name.
- Soda Bread
- Irish soda bread rises with baking soda instead of yeast. It became common in Ireland in the 1800s, and a cross is traditionally cut into the top before baking.
- Tin Whistle
- The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-hole flute. It is easy to start on and is a favorite instrument in Irish traditional music.
- Tricolor
- Ireland's flag is a tricolor of green, white, and orange. Green stands for the Gaelic tradition, orange for supporters of William of Orange, and white for peace between them.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Chicago has dyed its river green for St. Patrick's Day since 1962, using an orange-colored powder that turns green when it hits the water.
- Every St. Patrick's Day, the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army receives fresh shamrocks, a tradition started by Queen Alexandra in 1901.
- Ireland's official St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin began in 1996 and grew into a multi-day celebration that draws visitors from around the world.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 14 × 14 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 30 | 17 × 17 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard st. patrick's day word search: all 30 words on a 17 × 17 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print st. patrick's day word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 11 × 11 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
Was Saint Patrick Irish?
No. Patrick was born in Roman Britain, probably in the late fourth or fifth century. He was taken to Ireland as a teenager by raiders, escaped years later, and eventually came back as a missionary. Ireland adopted him as its patron saint.
What grades is this St. Patrick's Day word search for?
Easy mode suits first through third graders, with simple words like Green, Harp, and Rainbow. Medium and hard are tougher and suit upper elementary students, middle schoolers, and adults. Leprechaun is the spelling word most kids get stuck on.
How many words are hidden in the puzzle?
Easy and Large print use 12 familiar words like Shamrock, Rainbow, and Pot of Gold, Medium uses 20, and Hard hides all 30. The harder words come from Irish places, food, music, language, and the life of Saint Patrick, each with a short note below.
Is there an answer key for this st. patrick's day word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 30 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
