The theme of this year’s St Patrick’s Festival will be “Seoda – Treasures from Ireland”, with next month’s series of events expected to generate more than €73 million for the economy.
The programme for the festival, which takes place from March 13th-17th, was unveiled on Thursday. It includes events that will celebrate different aspects of Irish culture including the spoken word, literature, art and poetry.
St Patrick's Festival chief executive Susan Kirby said the festival is "one of the most important and powerful tools that brand Ireland has in promoting our country".
“St Patrick’s Festival continues to be five great days and nights where Ireland welcomes the world,” she said.
“This year’s festival will present today’s culture creators and celebrate who and what our contemporary national treasures are, as well as taking pride in our traditions.”
Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin Tom Brabazon said the festival was a "great opportunity" to showcase Ireland.
“As a boy I remember coming into the parade each year, and now our national festival has grown into a five-day extravaganza celebrating all that is great about Ireland today,” he said.
“We have so many modern-day treasures, people creating our contemporary culture each day and it’s fantastic that the festival will showcase these across five days and nights of fun and celebration.
“I have no doubt that Dubliners and visitors to the city will enjoy memorable experiences and leave with lasting memories.
“I would also like to congratulate the St Patrick’s Festival Board for all their hard work, professionalism and dedication which results in the Dublin festival being such a fantastic showcase for our Irish culture and heritage.”
Orla Carroll, director of product development at the National Tourism Development Authority, said festivals are "crucial" to the tourism sector and "play an important role in both attracting overseas visitors and delivering brilliant visitor experiences".
"With significant investment from Fáilte Ireland, this year's St Patrick's Festival will not only celebrate our culture, people and places with a line-up of music, dance, literature and art, it will also showcase Ireland as a fantastic tourist destination to global media."
