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Performers entertaining the crowd on O'Connell Street during a Saint Patrick's Day parade Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
what you need to know
Where are the biggest St Patrick's Day parades and what other events are happening today?
This weekend will see parades aplenty and cultural events in every corner of the country.
HAPPY ST PATRICK’S Day!
This weekend will see parades aplenty and cultural events in every corner of the country.
Here’s a quick snapshot of what’s on offer.
DUBLIN
Kicking off at 12pm, this year’s parade has been described by festival organisers as a “wonderful street spectacle”.
It will begin at Parnell Square, cross O’Connell Bridge and run through the south side of the city, ending at the Cuffe Street/Kevin Street junction.
No tickets are required to attend the parade.
A group of dancers and marchers will represent the Ukrainian communities of Dublin in the parade for the first time since arriving here as refugees in 2022.
It will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and on the RTÉ Player.
Major traffic restrictions similar to other years will be in place with diversions commencing at 4am across the city. A full list of road closures can be found here.
Elsewhere in the city, St Patrick’s Festival Quarter returns for a third year at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. This will be free to access and open to all ages from 12pm to 10.30pm today.
An in-depth look at everything that’s on in Dublin (and there is A LOT on) can be found here.
GALWAY
Kicking off at 11.30am, Galway’s parade marks the highlight of a three-day celebration of Irish culture in the city.
It will begin at University Road, cross Salmon Weir Bridge, to Eglinton Street and wrap up at Prospect Hill.
There will be traditional music concerts at Eyre Square today, kicking off at 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.
For more details, click here.
BELFAST
This year’s Belfast St Patrick’s Day Parade will leave City Hall at 1.30pm and celebrate the city’s vibrant creativity and culture.
The parade will weave its way through the city centre via Chichester Street, Victoria Street, High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place before ending at City Hall.
After the parade, people can continue the celebrations at the Festival Village in Cathedral Gardens where there will be an afternoon of music, song, dance and food hosted by Declan Wilson.
Further details of the parade can be found here.
CORK
“Pure Imagination” is the theme of this year’s parade in Cork city, which will set off from South Mall at 1pm.
Participants including sport groups, dance schools and brass bands will travel down Grand Parade, onto St Patrick’s Street, finishing on Merchant’s Quay.
A live-stream of the parade will be available online from 12.45pm, for those who can’t attend in person.
There are also a number of active and cultural events lined up across the weekend. See more about what’s on here.
KILKENNY
This year’s theme of the Kilkenny St Patrick’s Day parade is ‘Kilkenny Cats: Tales and Legends’.
The parade will kick off at 1.30pm and will make its way through John Street, Rose Inn Street, The Parade (Review stand), High Street, and finish at the Market Yard.
Before and after the parade, the streets of Kilkenny will be full of lively entertainment and activity with live music, street entertainment, carnival rides and food and crafts at the Festival Market. More on all of that here.
LIMERICK
The parade in Limerick starts at noon and will head down O’Connell Street from Roden Street, making its way to the finish point on Rutland Street.
Limerick student Seán O’Sullivan from Coláiste Chiaráin will be the Grand Marshal for the parade. He made national headlines in January when his AI-related project VerifyMe secured him the top prize at the 60th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
This year’s parade will also see visual artists Buí Bolg join Lumen Street Theatre, Limerick Youth Dance Company, the Hit Machine Drummers and hundreds of local participants.
Full details of other events happening in Limerick today can be found here.
WATERFORD
The Waterford parade will begin at 1pm at the Waterford Bus Station.
It will then proceed along the Quay, past the Clock Tower and the Plaza, moving around to the Mall. The route will finish at the Parnell Street end of the Mall.
A full programme of events taking place in Waterford today is available here and a breakdown of road closures can be found here.
TRANSPORT TODAY
Irish Rail has said it will be operating a Sunday service today, with extra DART and Communter services operating before and after the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin.
Commuters are being advised to allow sufficient time to travel to the parade.
Tara Street Station will be closed today until 4pm to facilitate Garda crowd management arrangements. People should use Connolly or Pearse Stations during this time.
The following trains will operate after midnight on DART and Commuter routes, serving all stations unless otherwise stated:
- 12.20am Dublin Pearse to Maynooth
- 12.30am Dublin Pearse to Howth
- 12.30am Dublin Connolly to Greystones
- 12.40am Dublin Pearse to Dundalk (serving Tara Street, Connolly, Howth Junction and then all stations to Dundalk)
- 12.50am Dublin Pearse to Kildare (serving Tara Street, Connolly, Drumcondra, and all stations ParkWest to Kildare)
A revised timetable is in place for Intercity routes. Details are available on www.irishrail.ie or the Iarnród Éireann app.
Cork Commuter services will be operating under a Sunday schedule.
There will be a number of diversions in place for Dublin Bus services until 5pm today.
A full breakdown of diversions and further information can be found on the Dublin Bus website.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has details of all disruptions to public transport around the country here.
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