NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND

Revellers watch as floats from the Dublin Parade make their way through the city. rollingnews.ie rollingnews.ie

• It is safe to say that hundreds of thousands of Irish people and visitors have thronged the streets of almost every village, town and city today – here are the pictures of the day’s events.   
• The Tánaiste and Taoiseach have said that Conor McGregor “doesn’t speak for the people of Ireland” after the MMA fighter arrived in Washington to hold a meeting with US President Donald Trump. 
• The National St Patrick’s Day parade took place in Dublin this afternoon, with an estimated 500,000 people gathering in the city centre to watch the procession. 
• Two men who were struck by a runaway car in Co Donegal in the early hours of St Patrick’s Day were brothers who lived less than 100 yards from the scene of the tragedy.
• Gardaí have arrested a man who allegedly smashed up a departure gate inside Dublin Airport Terminal One this morning after missing his flight. 
• Two men have been arrested and a firearm with ammunition has been seized following a search in Dublin today.
• The Dean Hotel Group paid out €18.07m in cash for a Clarence Hotel company co-owned by U2’s Bono and The Edge in October 2023.
• Gardaí of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) in Limerick have been involved in an operation which seized two guns and arrested two men in a major operation overnight. 
• Tánaiste Simon Harris has moved to reassure the undocumented Irish living in the US that the government has not forgotten about them. 
• As Ireland marks St Patrick’s Day, many Ukrainians here are marking their third anniversary of fleeing their homeland around now. 
• Taoiseach Micheál Martin has ruled out running for the presidency this year.
• Ireland Independent MEP Ciaran Mullooly has a five-point plan to address house prices across Ireland and the EU in his new role as vice-chair of the European Parliament’s housing committee.
• Landlord Ires reit agreed during mediation with the rental sector regulator to stop trying to charge a tenant €150 monthly for the ‘common area’ of a Drumcondra apartment block – but two months later began pursuing other tenants for the fee at the same building.

THE WORLD

A marcher in the New York St Patrick's Day parade plays the bagpipes on a Fifth Avenue in the city today. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#UKRAINE Aggression cannot be rewarded, Tánaiste Simon Harris said today in New York when asked about US President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaking tomorrow. 

#LEBANON The Israeli military has said it has killed two suspected Hezbollah members in an air strike near the city of Tyre in South Lebanon.

#USA Unusually vicious and damaging weather across multiple US states resulted in violent tornadoes, blinding dust storms and fast-moving wildfires over the weekend, leaving at least 39 people dead.

#RED SEA Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have claimed to have twice attacked an American aircraft carrier group within 24 hours, calling it retaliation for deadly US strikes.

#NORTH MACEDONIA Authorities have detained 15 people and ordered a nationwide review of entertainment venue licenses after a nightclub fire left 59 people dead and 155 injured.

PARTING SHOT

While we’re all safe at home in Ireland a group of Irish men and women are in the hills of South Lebanon on a peacekeeping mission with the United Nations. 

 They received their service medals today and sprigs of Shamrock in an event at their camp near At Tiri.

Today, 213 members of IRISHPOLBATT—113 Irish & 100 Polish—were awarded the UNIFIL medal today, recognising their dedication to peacekeeping.

On this special #StPatricksDay, we honour their service & celebrate our proud heritage.

Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh ☘️ pic.twitter.com/OscMzW0NZp

— 125 Infantry Battalion UNIFIL (@irishpolbatt) March 17, 2025