St Patrick's Festival, Dublin

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations & Parades in Ireland…

St. Patrick's Day is less than two days away and that can only mean one thing... Ireland's largest annual party, St. Patrick's Festival will be in full swing from March 15th - 19th 2006. Once confined to a single day, it now spreads itself over a week and attracts an international audience of well over 1 million - not just the Irish themselves or those of Irish descent but also those who sometimes might wish to be Irish.

THE EARLIEST RECORDED EVIDENCE of St. Patrick’s Day being celebrated outside of Ireland, other than by Irish soldiers, is provided by Jonathan Swift, the Dublin-born author of Gulliver’s Travels. In his Journal to Stella, he notes that in 1713 the parliament at Westminster was closed because it was St. Patrick’s Day and that the Mall in London was so full of decorations that he thought “all the world was Irish”. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade on record was held in New York in 1762 and seems to have been designed primarily as a recruiting rally by the English army in North America.

St Patrick's Festival, Dublin

Now this one day event has turned into a 100-hour carnival in Dublin during which audiences savour a wide ranging artistic programme of street theatre, music, dance, comedy, film and flaunts the very best of Irish Traditional and contemporary talent. Throughout the week, the Irish themselves do what they do best: having a party, a celebration full of warmth, fun and energy.

With a sensational opening night in event GE Money Oíche, an interative day through Irish, a city-wide Denny Treasure Hunt, a Liffey boat race, national debates at the Festival Symposium and the family favourite Denny Big Day Out, Festival-goers will have the chance to participate in dozens of unique activities. With more than 70% of this year’s events free of charge, there’s no reason why everyone can’t celebrate the world’s favourite patron saint in true Festival style. The whole world will be green with envy.

St Patrick's Festival, Dublin

The highlight of the festival is the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. There was a time when the equivalent parade in New York was considered to be the most spectacular in the world. That is no longer the case. The parade in Dublin has now taken its rightful place as being the most spectacular and exciting of them all. There are 700,000 people lining the streets dressed "Head to Toe" in green, the sun is beaming in the sky. In the distance you can hear the hum of music and the sound of 3,000 pairs of feet... it's St. Patrick's Day and it's time for the world famous St. For two hours you will be entertained by an awesome display of creative talent as the national St. Patricks Festival Parade snakes it's way through the city centre. International and Irish marching bands join performers, dancers and street theatre companies to present a wonderfully entertaining parade.

St. Patrick’s Day also provides a focal point for celebrations in many other towns in Ireland. Among the most significant of them are; Armagh, Belfast, CORK, DOWNPATRICK, GALWAY, HOLYWOOD (Co. Down), KILLARNEY, KILTIMAGH, LIMERICK and SLIGO.

For your St Patrick’s Day greeting :

St Patrick's Festival Information Links:
For more information on the St Patrick’s Festival log onto the official website:
Cork knows how to party and, if you’re up for it log onto:
For more information on St Patrick’s country log onto: