St Patrick’s Day was celebrated across the world on March 17th, with parades, festivities and cultural events. In Ireland, half a million people attended the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, which celebrated the theme of “One”. The parade featured 4,200 performers, including marching bands, aerial acrobats and vibrant costumes, and attracted crowds in leprechaun hats and green scarves. Small far-right protests were blocked by Gardaí during the parade. In Belfast, thousands of people lined the streets for a music-themed St Patrick’s Day parade, celebrating the city’s Unesco City of Music status. The parade was staged by the arts organisation, Beat Carnival, and included traditional Irish musicians and local arts groups. Meanwhile, Sligo celebrated traditional music, with parades reflecting the county’s strong musical tradition.
St Patrick’s Day was also celebrated across the world, with events in New York, London and Berlin. In New York, the St Patrick’s Day parade attracted Irish Wolfhounds, bagpipers and a sea of green, as crowds gathered to celebrate. Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe welcomed Irish spending on deepening relations with Germany during a St Patrick’s Day tour that took him through Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin. He visited the new Irish consulate in Frankfurt, which has worked to boost relations in the state of Hesse and Germany’s southwest.
