Tourism chiefs hail St Patrick as visitors top 50,000

Images of public figures as diverse as Éamon de Valera and U2, who have been given the Freedom of the City of Dublin, were projected on to City Hall last night to mark the start of the five-day St Patrick's Festival.

Tourism officials are expecting that this year's celebrations will attract the largest r number of overseas visitors to date for the event because St Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday.

A total of 50,000 visitors are expected in Dublin alone, where the national festival takes place.

Fáilte Ireland's Festivals and Cultural Events officer Fiona Gleeson said: "We have been actively marketing it to the overseas tourists since 1995 and this year we are expecting to fill every hotel bed in the city."

The festival, which was opened by the Lord Mayor of Dublin councillor Vincent Jackson last night, featured a choral performance by RTÉ's Cór na nÓg children's choir.

The Dublin celebration has been running as a five-day event for 12 years and has become a major tourist attraction in its own right.

It is the official State celebration of the national holiday and culminates in tomorrow's St Patrick's Day parade through the streets from Parnell Square to St Patrick's cathedral.

The grand marshal will be the RTÉ broadcaster Mícheál Ó Muirceartaigh and the 4,000 performers will be led by the Army No 1 Band. This year's theme is based on legends both from home and abroad. Street theatre groups have been commissioned to draw on the legends of Irish, Greek, Indian and African mythology.

For the first time, the parade will include substantial contributions from the many nationalities now living in Ireland.

There will be performers from the Polish, Lithuanian, Indonesian, Nigerian and Sikh communities who are taking part as a result of City Fusion, a multicultural initiative by Dublin City Council. The Luminarium, an inflatable maze in the Docklands, is based on the theme of Islamic architecture.

Festival chief executive Donal Shiels said: "There have been elements of multiculturalism in the festival before, but it's most certainly here with a bang this year."

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out for Saturday's parade, although the finish clashes with the start of the Italy-Ireland Six Nations rugby match in Rome, with Ireland chasing their first championship win in 22 years.

Later on tomorrow afternoon, there will be a céili mór in Earlsfort Terrace with the Kilfenora Céilí Band.

The National Lottery Skyfest returns to Dublin's Docklands on Sunday evening after a year's absence. Last year's event was cancelled because of construction work in the area.

Skyfest 2007 begins at 7pm with a concert by the Waterboys and the best viewing points will be along North Wall Quay and Sir John Rogerson's Quay.

Myths and legends will also be the theme of the Limerick St Patrick's Day parade. The Grand Marshal will be Limerick Person of the Year Paul Gleeson and his girlfriend Tori Holmes. Together they rowed 4,000 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean last year.

Limerick has planned its largest parade yet, this year on the theme of Irish Myths and Legends. It will include a large number of giant Celtic legendary characters.

The event will also for the first time include a creative community project with more than 400 community groups and schoolchildren participating.

Cork's St Patrick's Day Festival will run from tomorrow until bank holiday Monday. The parade will feature dozens of street performers. There will be a farmers' market at Emmet Place and a series of live concerts, starting with the Waterboys at the Opera House tonight.

Galway's parade will be the first to return to Eyre Square since the controversial refurbishment of the square. The theme will be Paddywood, a series of sketches based on Hollywood in an Irish setting.

While towns all over the country will be holding their own parades, none will be as short as that in the Cork village of Dripsey. Its modest parade between two public houses in the village measures less than 25 metres, making it not just the shortest in Ireland, but the shortest St Patrick's Day parade in the world.

Festival events: today

DUBLIN:Tastefest, RDS Main Hall, noon-8pm; Barabbas 40 Songs of Green, National Concert Hall, 8pm; Christ Church cathedral choir concert, Christ Church cathedral, 7pm; Festival funfair, Merrion Square, 6pm-11pm.
CORK:The Waterboys, Cork Opera House, 8pm.
BRAY:St Patrick's funfair, Bray seafront, 2pm-10pm.