COMEDIANS JASON BYRNE and Deirdre O’Kane have been announced as grand marshalls of the Dublin St Patrick’s Day parade. 

The announcement was made at the Clarence Hotel in Temple Bar this afternoon. 

O’Kane said, “Getting to be a Grand Marshall in this year’s Parade has absolutely made my 2019! I’m a huge Parade fan and experiencing it from the heart of the spectacle will be an incredible honour.”

“As a child of 1980′s Dublin who went to the Parade every year,” says Byrne, “I’m amazed to be one of this year’s Grand Marshals.”

He added, “I’m also amazed that the Parade is now actually incredibly good, and whilst I’ll miss the floats of my era (a truck carrying Amercians followed by a fire brigade and a dog), I can’t wait to see this year’s mega floats as myself and Dee get to wave at our billions and billions of adoring fans.”

They’ll lead the traditional, large-scale parade on Sunday week, following the usual route from Parnell Square on the northside to Kevin St on the south of the city. 

The Dublin St Patrick’s Festival gets under way next Thursday, 14 March, with events running until the Bank Holiday Monday on the 18th.