St Patrick's Day: Thousands expected at Northern Ireland festivals

Organisers of the Belfast parade will be hoping for better weather than marchers experienced last year

Towns and cities across Northern Ireland, and many other parts of the world, will host parades and other festivities on Friday to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

BBC News NI lists some of the biggest events on offer this year.

Belfast

The city is hosting a 10-day festival (10-19 March) filled with concerts, traditional music sessions, dances, workshops and tours, as well as the annual parade through the city.

Custom House Square is hosting a St Patrick's Eve concert from 17:00 GMT on Thursday, headlined by Dublin singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan.

Tickets were free and Belfast City Council has advised that all places have been allocated.

For the fittest festival-goers, St Patrick's Day itself kicks off with a 6.2 mile (10km) race from Belfast City Hall to Ormeau Park, starting at 09:00 GMT.

The main parade begins at City Hall at 13:30 GMT and will travel in a loop along Chichester Street, Victoria Street, High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place, before returning to its starting point.

The theme for this year's event is voices of Belfast and is billed to "celebrate Belfast's music heritage from pop to punk and traditional to disco".

The parade is staged by the arts organisation Beat Carnival, which is also intending to use the event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

It has invited people who were born around the time of the 1998 deal - those aged 24, 25 and 26 - to walk with them in the parade and share their visions and hopes for the future of the city.

Belfast City Council is also using its building at 2 Royal Avenue (the former Tesco store) to stage various events including St Patrick's Tales of Our City.

This is a sound installation through which Belfast residents share their personal stories of living in the city in the past and present, with new participants welcome to contribute tales.

The venue will also host a sold-out Celtic Storm concert on Saturday, featuring musicians and a former Riverdance lead dancer.

See the full list of Belfast events.

Londonderry

Derry City and Strabane Council said it expects "tens of thousands" of people to throng Derry's streets on Friday for its St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Traditional Irish musicians will take to the stage at Guildhall Square from 13:00 GMT while, at the nearby Peace Garden, children will be entertained by a drama performance of A Tale of Fairies.

The parade begins at Bishop Street at 15:00 GMT and travels to the Diamond, Shipquay Street and along Queen's Quay before ending at Strand Road car park.

The theme is recycle and renewal and the cavalcade will be staged by North West Carnival Initiative.

The mayor will also host a 24-hour charity buskathon in aid of homelessness, beginning at 18:00 GMT on the steps of the Guildhall.

See the full list of Derry events.

Children from Saval Gaelic Athletic Association club took part in Newry's 2022 parade

Newry

There will be live music and street entertainers in Hill Street from 12 noon on St Patrick's Day and free craft workshops for children in Bagenal's Castle until 16:00 GMT, although pre-booking is advised.

The parade, compered by broadcaster Julian Simmons, begins at the Albert Basin at 13:00 GMT and proceeds along Buttercrane Quay, Merchants Quay, Sugar Island to Kildare Street beside the city hall.

McClelland Park, off Edward Street, will be transformed into Newry's Family Festival Village for the day and will host family activities for a range of age groups.

See the full list of Newry events.

St Patrick is reportedly buried on the Hill of Down and is commemorated at Down Cathedral

Downpatrick

The purported resting place of St Patrick goes all out every year to honour Ireland's patron saint and this year is no different.

The celebrations begin at noon in the aptly named St Patrick's Square, with live music and free children's activities including face painting, balloon modelling and arts and crafts.

The parade begins at Ardglass Road at 13:30 GMT and the route takes in Edward Street, John Street, Irish Street and Market Street before finishing up at Rathkeltair car park.

Down County Museum and Down Arts Centre is also hosting St Patrick's Day-themed events from 11:00 GMT, including free arts and crafts workshops, live music and dance.

See the full list of Downpatrick events.

Fermanagh's wakeboarding leprechauns will return to Enniskillen to entertain St Patrick's Day revellers

Enniskillen

Bouncy castles, balloon modelling and face-painting are among the free children's activities on offer at Broadmeadow in Enniskillen from 13:30 to 15:30 GMT.

The County Fermanagh island town is also staging plenty of water-based entertainment in Lough Erne, including the return of its popular wakeboarding leprechauns.

Highland and Irish dancers will take to the stage on the Diamond from 13:30, followed by live music.

The main parade begins at the Lakeland Forum at 15:30 GMT.

The theme of this year's parade is back to the future and will feature both vintage and futuristic vehicles as well as a guest appearance by "T-rex the interactive dinosaur".

See the full list of Enniskillen events.

Thursday's vigil will start at Armagh's Protestant cathedral and end at the city's Catholic cathedral (above)

Armagh

For those looking for a more spiritual offering, Armagh prides itself as the place where Patrick began his Christian mission, and the cathedral city is starting its commemorations early.

On the eve of St Patrick's Day, the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland will lead a torchlit vigil walk between their two cathedrals.

The event aims to be a "symbolic reflection of St Patrick's own journey to unite through Christianity" and begins at 21:00 GMT at the Church of Ireland Cathedral.

A free concert featuring Celtic trad rock band More Power to Your Elbow and flautist Rioghnach Connolly takes place in the Shambles Yard from 17:30 GMT on Thursday.

Armagh's community parade begins at 14:30 GMT on Friday at the Christian Brothers' School.

It will travel towards Cathedral Road, past the Shambles Market and finish at the Cathedral Road Recreation Centre.

See the full list of Armagh events.

Hikers make an annual pilgrimage to Slemish mountain every St Patrick's Day

Slemish mountain

Thousands of pilgrims climb the County Antrim peak every 17 March in honour of St Patrick, who is believed to have worked as a shepherd on Slemish as an enslaved teenager.

The hike to the summit and back is just short of one mile (1.5km) in total and takes approximately one hour in good weather, according to Mid and East Antrim Council.

It has organised live music and children's activities at the site, but advises suitable footwear and waterproof clothing for anyone attempting the climb.

See council information on Slemish hike.

Revellers packed the streets of central Dublin on St Patrick' Day 2022

Dublin

Meanwhile in the Republic of Ireland, organisers expect half a million people to line the streets of the Irish capital for a parade which begins at Parnell Square at noon on Friday.

Marchers will proceed along O'Connell Street, over O'Connell Bridge, past Trinity College, up Dame Street, past Christ Church and St Patrick's Cathedral, finishing at Kevin Street.

The guest of honour will be Irish-American actor Patrick Duffy, who played Bobby Ewing in Dallas.

The parade will be led by the Republic of Ireland women's national football team.

See the full list of Dublin events.