St. Patricks Day marks Irelands ‘reopening moment after pandemic hiatus

After a two-year pause in St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Ireland due to the pandemic, the annual holiday returns to the country with parades, carnivals and celebrations. 

Several restrictions were imposed during the holiday in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including pubs being closed, mass gatherings being barred and international travel being purely out of the picture. 

Two years later, Ireland is set to welcome St. Patrick’s Day in all its glory, with no more stringent restrictions in sight. 

People in Ireland are now looking forward to the centrepiece parade on the streets of Central Dublin, with organizers promising a parade bigger and better than ever. 

According to Anna McGowan, the Interim director of the St. Patrick’s Festival, this year’s festive event has been boosted by extra government and city funding, making it “Ireland’s reopening moment.”

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While the event was being planned for months, it was only in January when the government approved the parade to be conducted this year. 

“Suddenly, it was like someone just lit a fire under all of us,” McGowan told AFP. 

“It has been just one of the most intense planning periods I think this festival has ever seen,” she added. 

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Nearly 400,000 people are expected to attend the parade along with 3,000 participants and 250 contractors. 

Kenneth Will, the director of the Pride of Dayton Marching Band, flew from Ohio to Dublin with 130 band members to perform at the parade two years after its 2020 edition was called off. 

“To come over and perform in front of thousands of people here in Dublin is really special to this group, and I know that they are really excited,” Will told AFP.