Hundreds of thousands turned out to mark St Patrick's Day across the island of Ireland after two years of muted celebrations due to Covid-19.
With parades cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, revellers went green and lined the streets of Dublin city centres as celebrations took place across Ireland, with massive crowds on the streets as part of a five-day festival - described as being "bigger and better than ever before", with estimated crowds of around 400,000.
The parade was a welcome boost to the local hospitality sector, still recovering from one of Europe's longest lockdowns. As thousands descended onto the streets of the capital, with a sea of green blanketing the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street, the city was adorned with shamrock hats, leprechauns and long fake ginger beards to say “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!”
