The World Celebrates Ireland This St Patrick’s Day
The World Celebrates Ireland This St Patrick’s Day
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--People around the world revelled in all things Irish on 17th March – the annual global celebration of Irish culture, arts and heritage known as St Patrick’s Day.
In Dublin, around half a million people lined the streets of the capital for the St Patrick’s Festival parade, which this year has the theme of ‘Adventures’ – or ‘Eachtraí’ in Irish – representing the legendary adventurous Irish spirit, loved the world over.
St Patrick's Day is marked all over the world by the 70 million who claim links to Ireland. Celebrating Ireland’s national colour, the defining natural green lands, the Global Greenings returned for St Patrick’s Day, with iconic international landmarks lighting up in green including Niagara Falls, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Empire State Building, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, as well as the northernmost greening of a Polar Bear sculpture in the Norway’s arctic archipelago Svalbard.
2025 also marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a permanent walking trail at Saint Patrick’s Way. Located in the northeastern part of the Island of Ireland – the stunning 132km/82 mile trail takes in rolling hills, canal towpaths and majestic beaches connecting the Cathedral city of Armagh and Patrick’s final resting place in Downpatrick – two of locations on the island of Ireland most closely related to Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick's Way has proved to be extremely popular destination for thousands of leisure walking and pilgrimages each year and as a marker of its success a new Saint Columbanus’ Way will run along a considerable stretch of Saint Patrick’s Way from Newry to Downpatrick through the beautiful Mountains of Mourne.
Throughout Ireland there are parades and festivals over the period celebrating the nation’s Patron Saint, including the International Band Championship at the Limerick parade; the Big Festival in the Small City of Kilkenny; an exploration of Soldiers, Saints and Scholars in Waterford; Building a Better World in Cork; celebrating Queen Maeve in Sligo and an exploration of the Echoes of Killarney.
In Northern Ireland the Derry City and Strabane Spring Carnival theme of Forest, Sky and Sea celebrated the arrival of spring and brighter days, culminating in the Strabane St Patrick’s Day Parade; the Home of St Patrick Festival in Armagh which boasts a Parade in Armagh City Centre, and other Parades taking place in Belfast City, Newry and Downpatrick. Other celebrations include the annual St Patrick’s Day walk at Slemish and a programme of events at the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick.
The celebration of green for St Patrick's Day is mirrored across the land itself, when nature is coming to life across the island from cities to coasts to wild mountain landscapes. Spring in Ireland is filled with daffodils and wildflowers, as well as landscapes dotted with newborn lambs. Throughout the country there are festivals, walking trails, beautiful gardens, cosy pubs and fast changing weather that heralds a beautiful rainbow!
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