St. Patrick's Day Travel

I'm looking to surprise my husband with a trip to Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We met at a St. Patrick's Day festival here in the USA but I wanted to visit a country where it all started from and my hubby has never traveled internationally like I have, so I thought this would be great. My question is, when is the best time to book a vacation deal with travel search engines to visit Ireland during St. Patty's Day? I've been seeing some fairly reasonable prices but know that I'm still 6.5 months away from visiting so I didn't know if prices will sky rocket or go down a little more. It is a holiday and I don't want to miss out because it gets booked.
Lastly, what is it like in Ireland around that time of the year? Are places to visit like monumental landmarks open because I think I read somewhere where most castles are closed around holidays.
Super excited!! Reply to this