In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day returns after two years of pandemic

After two editions canceled due to the coronavirus, St. Patrick’s Day festivities return to Ireland on Thursday, with organizers hoping the celebrations mark the country’s post-pandemic rebirth.

Parades of marching bands and dancers in honor of the patron saint of Ireland, a country with a strong Catholic tradition, were among the first to be canceled in 2020, when the world implemented restrictions and confinements to try to slow down the spread of the virus.

Two years later and the last sanitary measures in force have just been lifted, hundreds of thousands of international visitors are expected in Ireland to take part in the festivities.

Among them, Donna Smith, 60, wears a green, orange and white feather boa and a green bowler hat. “Everyone wants to come to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s like Mecca,” the American from Tennessee told AFP. She also compares the St. Patrick’s Day Parade to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with “people letting loose” and “having a lot of fun.”

To mark the occasion, the organizers have promised that the traditional parade in Dublin will be the biggest and best ever.

For Irish diplomacy, “the key message of St. Patrick’s Day this year is the reopening of Ireland”.

Ministers and diplomats traveled to Europe and the rest of the world, from Chile to Japan, to renew ties with the Irish diaspora.

But Covid-19 caught up with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, who tested positive on Wednesday evening in Washington, on the eve of a scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.

– Intense organization –

Until the last moment, the shadow of new health restrictions hung over the celebrations, which normally take a year and a half to organize.

If certain preparations had been anticipated, the government only confirmed in January that the parade could indeed take place, triggering a commotion.

“It has been one of the most intense planning periods this festival has ever seen,” said the festival’s acting director, Anna McGowan.

Up to 400,000 people were expected Thursday to attend the parade, which will see some 3,000 participants.

If the route of the parade is usually covered with green, the color of Saint Patrick’s Day, the municipality of Dublin this year hung on the lampposts yellow and blue banners, in reference to Ukraine.

On the bridges crossing the Irish capital, Ukrainian flags replace those of Ireland in places, while participants were invited to bring objects showing their solidarity with the country invaded by Russia.

– Beer afloat –

Across the Irish capital, shopkeepers are anticipating what is expected to be “the biggest St. Patrick’s Day in a while”.

“As soon as the doors open, it’s just a flood of festival-goers and a great atmosphere,” says Andrew Roche, who works in a Dublin pub.

“There is not a moment without there being five beer taps in operation and there is constantly beer flowing and money entering” in the boxes, explains Mr. Roche.

Some 800,000 people must reach Ireland for the twelve days of Saint Patrick’s Day, this year between March 12 and 24, according to Dublin Airport.

Nsiidwa Nunu Kambauwa, 29, wearing an Irish tricolor hat, came to watch the parade with her sister and five-year-old nephew, the Irish flag painted on their cheeks. “I have lived here for ten years and I have never been to see the parade because I am still working but today I decided to come”, she explained, saying to herself “overexcited”.

Kenneth Will, director of a marching band in Ohio, came from the United States with his 130 students to march in the grand parade.

“Coming to play here in front of thousands of people in Dublin is really something special for the band,” he said, pointing to the “omnipresence” of Irish culture in the United States.

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