Galway
Asylum-seekers from Nigeria, the Congo and middle and eastern Europe will add spice to this year's international St Patrick's Day parade in Galway city, which involves a plethora of community and arts groups.
The 15 asylum-seekers, who are staying in Salthill while awaiting news of their applications for refugee status, will join members of the Travelling community, representatives of the National Association for the Deaf, and school and youth groups from the city for the street party, which sets off from University College Hospital, Galway at 12.30 p.m.
A "thatched church", two gleoiteoga (small hookers) and several familiar Macnas outfits will join the floats, to be reviewed by the deputy mayor, Cllr Micheal O hUiginn, in Eyre Square. The thatched church is a reconstruction of a 17th century place of worship on the Claddagh, and the Claddagh community is also hoping to "float" a gleoiteog on land.adoiri Boston, a group of US visitors with an interest in both boats and Galway's many bars.
The parade is to be led by actress Anna Manahan, currently appearing in the Town Hall Theatre in Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Traffic will be prohibited along the route - from University Road to the junction at Quincentenary bridge - from 12 noon tomorrow. Parked cars will be removed by tow truck and impounded.
- Lorna Siggins
Limerick
Limerick's parade will include its first flypast this year when a vintage Aer Lingus aircraft, a DH Dragon, takes to the air. The restored aircraft is a sister plane of the first Aer Lingus twin-engine passenger aircraft, DH84 Dragon, named Iolar Eagle, which flew the Dublin to Bristol route in 1936. The parade, which leaves from Sarsfield Barracks at 11.30 a.m., has up to 70 entries including 40 floats and 10 marching bands led by the 3rd Field Military FCA Pipe Band.
- Eibhir Mulqueen
Cork
This year's parade in Cork will cost up to £15,000 and will involve 60 entrants from overseas as well as from Cork city and county.
The theme of the parade is peace and the Lord Mayor of Cork , Mr Damien Wallace, as well as the president of the Cork Junior Chamber of Commerce, Ms Ciara Greene, will release two white doves, supplied by a local pet shop, before the parade commences. This year, because of a now well-established connection between parade organisers in Cork and Texas, seven Texans will march in the parade including a Texan child dressed as the Yellow Rose of Texas.
The parade will begin at 12.30 p.m. and continue for two hours.
Tonight Cork's COPE foundation will host a millennium St Patrick's Eve ball and tomorrow evening the Lord Mayor of Cork will host his own gala ball. At least 300 people are expected to attend.
- Dick Hogan
The South-East
In Waterford, the traditional parade of bands, community groups and commercial floats begins at noon, with a different route than previously due to the recent pedestrianisation of the city centre.
Participants are assembling at two points, one at Barrack Street, the other at Johnstown Car-Park, and will parade through the city centre along Parnell Street and the Quays, ending at Ballybricken.
The parade will be led by the Barrack Street Concert Band, the Thomas Francis Meagher Fife and Drum Band, the De La Salle Pipe Band, the Waterford City Pipe Band and the City of Waterford Brass Band.
From 11 a.m. to noon, the crowds will be entertained by the Mount Sion Silver Band.
Wexford's parade starts at 11 a.m. travelling from the Swan View along the Quays to Redmond Square. Street theatre will form a core element of the festivities along with live music.
Other parades are taking place in Tramore, New Ross, Gorey and Enniscorthy as well as smaller towns and villages in the south-east.
- Joe Humphreys
The North-West
A group of 200 children and adults from loyalist areas of Belfast will be taking part in the parade in Sligo, and the visit has caused some controversy. Organisers have condemned sensational media reports of "loyalists" visiting the town.
Mr John Foley said the idea of having the three groups from east and south Belfast taking part in the parade was to break down barriers, and he said elements of the media were interested only in stirring up controversy. The majority of those travelling from the Sandy Row Residents' Group, South Belfast Cultural Society and the Ballymacarrett Cultural and Arts Society are children, with some adult leaders.
The main parade in Co Donegal will take place in Letterkenny, but parades will also be held in Buncrana, Donegal town, Dun gloe, Falcarragh and Moville.
- Theresa Judge
The Midlands
The celebrations in the midlands will start early in Tullamore when the festivities get under way at 8 p.m. tonight with a fireworks display to be held in O'Brien Park. The organising committee hopes this will get the local people in the mood for the festival parade which begins at 11.30 a.m. tomorrow.
It will be officially opened by Mr Jack Whelan and will feature a band from Belarus.
This band will also feature in the Clara parade, which will get under way at 12.30 p.m.
The Kilcormack parade will begin at 3.30 p.m. and it will feature prizes for the maddest hat worn by anybody taking part in the celebration.
While neither Birr nor Edenderry will have a parade, Bracknagh will stage its first. The Athlone parade gets under way at 3.30 p.m. and will feature a strong Defence Forces input.
Lanesboro, Co Longford, is claiming that its parade on Lough Ree will be the first floating St Patrick's Day event in the midlands, if not in Ireland. It will begin at 12.30 p.m.
- Sean MacConnell