Day to be warmer than normal but there could/will be rain
Hello and a top o’ the morning to you all. Or Happy St Patrick’s Day as we say in this part of the world.
First, to the weather. While there was a decent chunk of blue sky of Dublin’s north inner city first thing, it may not last and we’re promised a changeable day with some patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle.
The most persistent rain will be found in the west – obviously – and it will gradually snake eastward through the morning and afternoon becoming patchier as it does so.
Temperatures will be relatively mild for a St Patrick’s Day with highest temperatures of 10 to 14 degrees, but windy with fresh to strong south to southwest winds, easing towards evening, Met Éireann has said.
Ireland’s big day has world awash with green
While it remains a religious feast day, the middle of March has long since turned into a four-day carnival of Irishness in the capital – and to a lesser extent everywhere else in the country, if not the world.
The St Patrick’s Day Festival organisers say brings tens millions of euro into Ireland and while it undoubtedly does that, it also serves as a glorious sign that the curtain is finally falling on a long, dreary winter.
Even though the day has moved on from its most traditional roots, (to the displeasure of some, it must be said), it is roots that remain central as the main theme of this year’s festival – and we are being promised “a celebration of where we come from, what grounds us and how we continue to grow together”.
The St Patrick’s Festival went with the theme of roots to highlight how Ireland is “deeply connected to story and tradition” and its “roots lie not only in history and folklore, but in the lived experiences of all those who call this island home, shaped by migration, emigration and cultural exchange across generations”.
This year’s parade will feature 12 large floats from independent parade companies including Macnas, Bui Bolg, Spraoi and the Outing Queer Arts Collective as well as marching bands from Ireland, Scotland and US states including Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi and Texas.
Before all the partying, the housekeeping
The Dublin parade will kick off at noon and is expected to last about two hours. It will begin at Parnell Square North, in the north of the city, and travel down O’Connell Street, over O’Connell Bridge and through the south side of the city, finishing at the Cuffe Street/Kevin Street junction.
The Garda is promising “an extensive policing plan in place” with more than 1,000 guards on duty including those in uniform, plain-clothes officers, public order units, armed support units, the dog units and the guards on horseback.
To allow for the parade, gardaí will have a number of rolling road closures and traffic restrictions in place and all motorists planning on making their way into or through the city are to be aware that parking will not be permitted along the parade route, and any offending vehicles will be towed.
In general, all traffic will be diverted through the North and South Circular Roads for the duration of the St Patrick’s Day parade.
‘I think we deserve to show off,’ says Vogue
“We got the weather, we got the weather,” says Vogue Williams as she makes her first appearance of the day.
She tells an assembled gathering of the most important media in the world - and The Irish Times Live Story - that she is very much in her “parade era”.
Richard Tierney, chief executive of the St Patrick’s Festival, tells her that the Lord Mayor Ray McAdam is “mad to meet her” and she expresses the hope that she will “get to wear his necklace”.
She says she found out that she had been asked to lead the parade while in the Jungle on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and immediately said yes.
“it is probably the highest honour you can get as an Irish person so I was delighted to do it,” Vogue tells us.
She says she was born in the Rotunda just a few metres away and spent her early childhood going to the parade before moving on to the bush-drinking, parade-dodging teenage years.
“No matter where I live, Ireland is always home. I sit in a certain seat on the plane when I fly home so I can see where I grew up.”
A French reporter asks what it is like to be a woman grand marshal and Vogue points out that there have been quite a few female grand marshals in recent times.
Tierney points out that Vogue is the third woman to be given the honour in the last four years. “So it is 3-1 under my stewardship.”
And asked what St Patrick’s Day means to her she says simply: “We are showing off today and I think we deserve to show off.”
Off-licences closed until 4pm to curtail on-street boozing
In 1927, the Ireland banned the sale of alcohol on three days a year – Christmas Day, Good Friday and St Patrick’s Day. The Paddy’s Day ban was lifted only a few years after it was introduced and it has – for a far while now – been a day that has become somewhat associated with people in Ireland and in other parts of the world having a few light ales to toast our patron saint.
And speaking of boozing, it is worth bearing in mind that there will be a voluntary restriction on off-licence sale of alcohol in Dublin City centre until after 4pm.
Dos and don’ts to get the most out of the Dublin parade
Do arrive early, having planned your journey into the city centre in advance.
Don’t expect to drive in and find parking close to the parade route.
Don’t bring a ladder, it is not 1983.
Do bring sustenance to keep you going, a flask of tea might be an idea.
Don’t expect to see sweets hurled off the back of tractors – again, it is not 1983.
Do wear the warmest socks you can find. And many, many layers. It will feel fairly cold if you are standing on the street for at least three hours, although in Dublin at any rate, the dial could climb as high as 14 degrees.
Don’t let your children roam free - the city will be bedlam all day.
Do ensure that they have contact details of a responsible adult about their person - you could do worse than write your mobile number on their arm.
Don’t be reserved, cheer loudly at every passing float. Today is a big, big deal for all those taking part so make them feel the love.
Martin set for Trump meeting in White House
Micheál Martin is preparing for a bilateral meeting with US president Donald Trump.
The Taoiseach will also meet vice-president JD Vance on St Patrick’s Day as part of the leader of Ireland’s traditional visit to Washington, DC.
Martin will meet Mr Trump in the Oval Office in an encounter that is expected to touch on a range of topics, including “deep ties” between the two countries.
Last year’s meeting saw the US president take questions from reporters for almost an hour.
However, the Taoiseach has faced criticism from some quarters about meeting Trump following the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill are boycotting the St Patrick’s Day events in the US over the Trump administration’s policies on Gaza.
Enda Kenny, the first taoiseach to meet Donald Trump during the latter’s first term in office in 2017, described an opportunity that is the envy of other countries.
Speaking to reporters at the Irish Funds gala dinner on Monday night, Kenny said the traditional annual meeting must be maintained.
“Essentially the job of the Taoiseach on Tuesday in meeting with the president of the United States is to reaffirm the strength of links between Ireland and America,” he said.
“We’re all different and politicians are politicians, they’ve got their own view and issues that they wish to raise. Generally and over the last years, a visit by whatever Irish taoiseach to whatever American president was about the links between both entities.
“Obviously there is a place for sorting out global politics and global controversies such as we have now, but Tuesday’s meeting is for the Taoiseach to reaffirm that Ireland is not losing sight of the opportunity here in America and over 200,000 American jobs, employed by Irish firms.”
Asked about those who feel the Taoiseach should have not continued the tradition of meeting with Trump, or should press him on issues, Kenny said: “I had that same argument with myself in 2011 right up to 2017 that you shouldn’t go to the White House, but this is an opportunity that no other country has.
“If you’re here to talk about opportunity for America, in America through Ireland or for young Irish to thrive and prosper and be world leaders, irrespective of what one’s views are, it’s a really important and critical element of good connections in politics that Ireland, whoever the taoiseach is, has established a very strong tradition of being able to talk to whoever the American president is.
“Other countries would be jealous to have that opportunity, and that’s something that we should not, under any circumstances, let slip from our grasp.”
Later on Tuesday, the Taoiseach will attend the Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the US Capitol, ahead of his presentation of a bowl of shamrock to the US president back at the White House.
‘People have told me they’ve saved three, four years, five years for this’
“It’s the national day and a chance for us to domestically and globally showcase what we’re good at, having fun,” said St Patrick’s Festival chief executive Richard Tierney.
He told The Irish Times (that’s us) the festival will bring about 100,000 tourists into the country and is worth in excess of €130m to the economy.
“I would say 50 per cent of people that are coming are here because it is a bucket list thing and about 25 per cent are spring breakers. Some people have told me they’ve saved three, four years, five years for this,” he continued.
“And I think what’s really important is the stories they tell when they get home. The world is a bit of a difficult place at the moment and we rely on people coming to see us so it’s important to put our best foot forward.”
He said Vogue ticked all the boxes as a grand marshal and “is a good role model which is most important for us”.
The waning popularity of the nation’s Paddys laid bare
The good people at the Central Statistics Office have released some Paddy’s Day data – or St Patrick’s Data if you will.
March 16th is the most popular wedding date in the first five months of any given year.
Patrick was the second-most popular boys’ name in 1965 but by last year it had fallen to 25th. Poor old Padraig is doing even worse and last year it was the 185th most popular boys’ name in Ireland.
The exporting of the green worth millions
As you may know the Taoiseach Micheál Martin will be in the White House today for the annual Paddy’s Day visit and along with navigating what might be described as a tricky enough auld assignment (for reasons we don’t need to dwell on here) he will hand the US president Donald Trump a crystal bowl full of shamrock. It is not the only shamrock that will leave the shores of Erin (sorry, it’s hard not to get caught up the moment!) this year. According to official data Ireland exported six tonnes of shamrock-related items in 2024 worth around €63m.
If you care a jot about the sons and daughters of Erin listen up, Americans
At this point we think it is important to raise an issue with any American readers we may have. We know that you live far away and – if you are of Irish heritage – might consider today to be somewhat sacred.
And we salute you for that. But for the love of all the saints and scholars, can you hear us when we say it is not – under no circumstances – all right to refer to the day as St Patty’s Day.
St Patrick’s Day is acceptable as is Paddy’s Day or even St Paddy’s Day but if you want to given an Irish person the ick you will say St Patty’s Day.
Thank you for your attention to this matter (to use a phrase that pops up surprisingly often on a well-known figure on the world stage’s social media accounts).
Sure he wasn’t even Irish
If you are in the market for some facts about St Patrick we have you covered.
The first fun fact, if we might paraphrase Roy Keane back in the Saipan days, is that St Patrick wasn’t even Irish.
He was, most probably, Welsh or at least that is what the Welsh village of Banwen claims. In times past it was known as Bannavem Taburniae, the Roman settlement where Patrick wrote in his Confessions he was born. There are also suggestions that he was Scottish or, whisper it, English.
He was kidnapped when he was 16 and sold into slavery. He was bought by a druid or Celtic priest and lived in Antrim for six cold, damp and pretty miserable years.
He escaped and fled back to Britain where he was ordained after which he came back to Ireland to work as a missionary.
He landed near Downpatrick, after currents swept his boat from the Irish Sea into Strangford Lough. A quickly converted local chieftain gave him a sabhall, or barn where he based himself before travelling the land sharing the Good News.
Patrick was married to a woman called Sheelah. The day after Paddy’s Day used to be a celebration of her life but she has largely been written out of the story.
According to legend, St Patrick used the shamrock to teach the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It became associated with Ireland more widely during rebellions against Britain in the 18th century.
Other parades to hail glorious Saint Patrick
The tradition of St Patrick’s Day parades began in America. A Spanish colony in what is now St Augustine, in Florida, held the first recorded parade on March 17th, 1601.
The celebrations were organised by the colony’s Irish priest, Padre Ricardo Artur, or Fr Richard Arthur, from Limerick. More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving in the British military paraded on March 17th in Boston in 1737 and in New York in 1762.
New York hosts the world’s biggest St Patrick’s Day celebration, with more than two million spectators watching 150,000 participants, according to its organiser
Aside from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Montserrat is the only other place in the world outside Ireland where St Patrick’s Day is a public holiday. The Caribbean island’s celebration is linked to the history of enslavement of African people: on March 17th, 1768, a group of slaves staged an unsuccessful uprising.
Today, a freedom run, masquerade dancing and other events during Montserrat’s two-week St Patrick’s Festival commemorate this history.
Argentina has about 500,000 people of Irish descent, the largest population outside the English-speaking world. The capital city becomes a sea of green each year when it hosts the largest parade in South America.
The Dublin parade will be starting in an hour, and this Live Story will be coming, um, live from the route - all going well ...
Update: Hello from the Dublin parade. The crowds have gathered, the cheers are ringing out and - believe it or not - the sun is shining. If we were asked to describe the weather right now, we’d have to say “warm and sunny”. Sure where else would you get it?
So, what happens now?
Well, in the next 10 minutes or so President Catherine Connolly will arrive on O’Connell St and be interviewed by the lovely Dáithí Ó Sé after which she will take her seat for her first Paddy’s Day parade as President.
Then, after that, the parade starts. it will last just under two hours. We will keep you updated as it trundles past us.
The spectacle – comprising 12 large floats and more than 3,000 participants – will run from Parnell Square in the north of the city, down Dublin’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, and ending at the Cuffe Street/Kevin Street junction on the south side of the city.
Performers in the parade include Macnas, Bui Bolg, Spraoi, the Inishowen Carnival Group, and The Outing Queer Arts Collective.
The Rotunda Hospital, located near the start of the parade, makes its first appearance with a special float designed by ArtFX.
Major parades are also due to kick off in Belfast, Cork and Galway, while in Jessie Buckley’s native Killarney, they are set to mark her Oscars achievement with a float dedicated to successful people from the Co Kerry town.
The theme of this year’s Dublin parade is celebrating people and roots, and will feature marching bands from Scotland and eight from the United States: Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Mississippi, Indiana and Texas.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who is due to meet US president Donald Trump in the Oval Office later on Tuesday, has also emphasised the depth of the link between Ireland and the US during engagements in Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Proof that we are where we say we are!
From the high king of Ireland (Dáithí Ó Sé) to the king of England.
The President has arrived and the No 1 Army band is running through a melody of crowd pleasers including The Irish Rover, Galway Bay, The Wild Rover and, um, Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.
That is that for the Army No 1 Band and the parade proper is about to get under way. The sun is still shining and there are people - and we are not joking - standing on the street in short sleeves.
It’s not always sunny in Galway
While it has been sunny all morning in the east, the west has been awash with wetness although we are being told that the lashing rain in Galway city has eased just in time for the parade to get under way.
Now, you might imagine that former president Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina would have had their fill of parades having attended the Dublin one for the 14 years he was in office, but you’d be wrong.
The former first couple are guests of honour in Galway and are watching the parade from a special podium in Eyre Square.
The Lord Mayor Ray McAdam has passed in the mayoral carriage followed, as ever, by the hardest-working man in the parade business, the Dublin City Council worker whose job it is to vacuum up any messes left behind by the mayor’s mares.
The Washington DC Fire Brigade Marching Band has marched past followed - obviously - by a Dublin Bus full of foreign media here to report on the big day. And then there is Grand Marshal Vogue, looking absolutely delira with herself, as well she might.
The first of the marching bands is from Clondalkin and they’re belting out Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You. And after them there is the first float. Its Bui Bolg from Wexford with Eiru, the goddess of the land. It is very, very orange and really loud, and includes some ancient Gaels and some monks. They too are more orange than any Irish monks I have ever seen.
They are quickly followed by the Ohio State University Marching Band, the pride of the Buckeyes, who are, we are told, ranked as the number one marching band in the US. They’re so sharp you could shave with them.
Incidentally, today is an unusual bank holiday in that there is a lot going on in our world and we have multiple live stories running simultaneously.
We have a team of reporters covering the Taoiseach’s meeting with the US president in the White House.
And then there is the news from London where Gerry Adams is giving evidence in his civil trial.
The smallest parade that ever lived
Ireland’s tiniest and shortest St Patrick’s Day parade kicked off the bank holiday festivities on Monday, celebrating 25 years of marching from a preschool in Limerick, writes David Raleigh.
Twenty pupils attending the Busy Bees preschool, at Park Gardens, Corbally, marched alongside a local lone piper, five hundred metres to a roundabout and back to their classroom.
Neighbours of the school and past pupils also marched behind the parade organised by Busy Bees owner Vivienne Vereker Campbell.
“It’s just incredible to bring the community out every year,” said Vereker Campbell.
“If I wasn’t for the community I wouldn’t be here, they’ve kept me alive and kept me going through recession, Covid, and we kept our piper and our parade going.”
The lone piper, Paul McMahon, has led the parade for 25 years, including in 2020, when during Covid-19 social distancing rules, he continued the march on his own without the preschool pupils.
“I’ve had four kids that have come through Busy Bees, it’s a fantastic school,” said McMahon.
ArtFX have just passed playing Thunderstuck. And then there is the Rotunda making its parade debut. It is the oldest maternity hospital in the world and will deliver its one millionth baby next year.
The Kildare company Artastic are passing with their float Cad E An Sceal - exploring Irish identity though the sharing of cups of tea. “Tea makes everything better,” the float tells us. It is hard to keep up but that is at least the second time tea has been mentioned in the parade so far.
Revenue has just walked passed to rapturous applause (can sarcasm be detected on a live story?). They are followed by Outing, a LGBTQ collective honouring trail blazers such as Oscar Wilde. It is loud and colourful - and to borrow a phrase from Taylor Swift, made our whole world shimmer.
Vivienne Clarke has this report from the midlands. Tullamore’s “biggest parade to date”, according to the organisers, got off to a rocky start when the trishaw borrowed from the local Lions Club chapter to transport grand marshal Olympic boxer Grainne Walsh stalled midway along the route.
Local councillor Shane Murray, who was providing the pedal power, gamely carried on with a push from a steward.
For Grainne Walsh it was “the most unusual form of transport” she had ever used in her home town.
Taking a well-earned rest from recent competitions in Bulgaria and before upcoming events in Brazil and China, the Olympian said it was a great honour to lead the parade.
The World bronze medallist was joined by family and friends who were all impressed with the trishaw, which Alan Hand, from Tullamore Lions Club, explained had been purchased a number of years ago to offer a quirky form of transport for nursing home residents or visitors to the town with mobility issues.
Among the participants in this year’s parade were brass and pipe bands including the National Ambulance Pipe Band and Mullingar’s Town Band who visit their midland neighbours every year.
For the first time this year there was a reserved sensory area in O’Connor Square that was closed to traffic with parade participants requested not to create any loud noise while passing this area especially motorbikes, cars and lorries, of which there were many.
Members of the local Indian community were marching for the third year in a row under the banner of Tullamore Indian Association bedecked in colourful costumes, including a large group of young dancers.
Equally colourful was the Offaly Africa support group, members of which wisely took the precaution of wearing layers under their shamrock-themed garments.
Back in Dublin, the Fairview Scout Troop has just come past and the President Catherine Connolly made one cub’s day when she invited him over for a handshake. The Capture of Don Cualigne from VolkiDana was small but has made a real impression on the crowd with the shrieking and shimmering hurleys
Just in case you have somewhere to be, the parade in Dublin will be over shortly. It has to be said, it’s been a fantastic spectacle, loud and colourful and full of energy... and all that sunshine.
We have a message just in from Spingfield.
Grand so, the parade is over and we have to move on from our perch. We’ll take a little break from the Live Story so we can join the throng of people making their way from O’Connell St. But we will return.
Former first couple arrive at Galway parade in vintage merc
We have some updates from other parades around the country.
First up we have this from Dara Bradley in Galway.
Families who arrived early to secure a decent vantage point to view Galway City’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade were soaked by a downpour of heavy rain before the start, but that failed to dampen spirits on the streets of the Capital of the West.
An estimated crowd of more than 30,000 spectators braved the wet and cold weather to line the route from University of Galway to Eyre Square and onwards to The Black Box on Dyke Road.
‘Legends and Rising Stars’ was the theme of this year’s parade, which was led by the Town Crier of Galway, Liam Silke.
Considered a ‘legend’ by many in his hometown, former President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, and his wife Sabina, were guests of honour, travelling in the parade in a red vintage Mercedes. Among the ‘rising stars’ on show were boys and girls from local sports clubs, and band members from Scoil San Phroinsias.
Around 3,000 participants representing more than 70 organisations were invited by the parade organisers to “shine a spotlight on the people and stories that inspire them” and to “bring to life a tale from mythology or folklore”.
There was an international flavour to the parade in the City of the Tribes with participants from the Ukrainian Groups Network, Polish House Galway, Ghana Union Galway, Mexicans in Galway, Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Galway Latvian Support Group, Georgian Community in Galway, Irish Falun Dafa Association (Falun Gong), Galway Filipino Irish Community, and Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine.
Among the marching bands providing the soundtrack was the vibrant visiting Chicago Garda Pipes and Drums, and Galway’s own St Patrick’s Brass Band.
Galway City Council, the parade organisers, in conjunction with Ireland’s Autism charity, AsIAm, introduced a new ‘relaxed space’ viewing area at Mercy Primary School on St. Francis Street for people with sensory needs.
Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm, said the space enabled Autistic children, adults and families to access “a more predictable, comfortable and judgement-free celebration”.
Louise Osborne, Festival and Events Officer at Galway City Council, said she hoped the calm space will become a permanent feature in future parades.
Among the dignitaries at the viewing stand in Eyre Square was Galway City Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF) deputising for the Mayor of Galway, Mike Cubbard (Ind), who is representing the city overseas in Seattle, where 40 years of the Galway-Seattle Sister City relationship was celebrated.
Be safe, have fun Limerick parade goers told
Around 70,000 people lined the streets of Limerick City for a St Patrick’s day parade full of music and mayhem, reports David Raleigh
The city’s CBS Pipeband pumped up the energy as 60 different floats and groups from all over the world participated in the “Legends of Limerick” themed parade, celebrating local heroes, achievers, and inspirational community volunteers.
As the parade swept colour and craic through the city, Limerick’s directly elected mayor, John Moran, jumped from his seat in the grand stand to dance with performers from the Limerick’s Migrant Integration forum.
Limerick’s last surviving fife band, St Mary’s fife and drum band, formed 141 years ago, whistled traditional tunes, as knights from King John’s Castle clashed swords for the crowds.
Irish dancing schools, stage schools, and sports clubs across the city and county flooded the parade with pride in their communities.
High flying performers from Fidget Feet wowed with aerial acrobatic artistry, and the Irish National Clown Orchestra of Ireland laughed it up with some bum notes.
Moran had a simple message for the crowds attending the parade: “Be safe, have fun”.
Cork celebrates marshes, myths and magic
Up to 60,000 people gathered in Cork city centre for the annual parade which got underway at 1pm, writes. Olivia Kelleher.
The theme of this year’s parade was “Marsh, Myth and Magic” inspired by the city’s origin on marshlands. It featured a record 3,600 participants and included street theatre groups and marching bands.
Close to 20 volunteers from Blood Bike South took part in the parade on their motorbikes. The charity is run by a group of motorbike enthusiasts who provide an out of hours free service to public hospitals and clinics in the south.
Volunteers transport blood, blood products, patient records and medication between public hospitals and blood transfusion banks, primarily but not exclusively in the southern regions.
Other participants in the colourful parade included 90 members of DC Everest Senior High March School Marching Band from Wisconsin, the McKinney High School Royal Pride Marching band from Texas, a group from the Mexican community in Cork, Cork African Women’s Group anddancers from Connolly Dance Studios.
Miraculously, the rain held off but the parade was held amid blustery windy conditions.
Four legged fluffy friends from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and their handlers served as Grand Marshals of the Cork St Patrick’s Day parade today in recognition of their five decades of life changing services.
The Cork based national charity currently has 400 Guide and Assistance Dogs clients. It costs over €5 million to run the organisation annually with over 85 percent of their income being sourced through donations and fundraising.
Charity CEO Tim O’Mahony said that being chosen to lead the parade in the city in their anniversary year was a “tremendous honour” for Irish Guide Dogs.
In the county parades took place in towns such as Macroom, Mallow, Midleton, Glanmire and Fermoy, Bantry, Cobh, Buttevant and Crosshaven.
The parade in Millstreet will round out the day, starting at 5pm.
