St Patrick’s Day parade gets green light as Irish Covid restrictions eased

Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin confirmed parades will return in Ireland this year for the first time since March 2019.

A man dressed as St Patrick (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Archive)

A St Patrick’s Day parade will take place in Ireland in March after a two-year absence.

The annual celebration of Ireland’s patron saint had moved online over the last two years as the country battled the coronavirus pandemic.

However, following an announcement of the removal of most Covid restrictions in Ireland, Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin confirmed a physical parade will take place in 2022.

“I can confirm there will be a parade on St Patrick’s Day after two years of an absence, we will have a physical parade and actually the department is funding over two million euros in the events for that day and there will be strong online content as well,” she said.

“All of this is being worked on, we’ve been doing contingency plans behind the scenes but we’re delighted now that a physical parade will take place and we will announce the details on that shortly.”