Inside ring of steel St Patrick's Day plans as Dublin packed with parade punters for first time after two years of Covid

16 Mar 2022

The Irish Sun

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Inside ring of steel St Patricks Day plans as Dublin packed with parade punters for first time after two years of Covid

REVELLERS will drown the Shamrock in style after two years of Covid hell — with Dublin set to be packed with 400,000 punters for the Paddy’s Day parade. Tomorrow sees the first major St Patrick’s D…

REVELLERS will drown the Shamrock in style after two years of Covid hell — with Dublin set to be packed with 400,000 punters for the Paddy’s Day parade.

Tomorrow sees the first major St Patrick’s Day festivals since the virus scuppered celebrations across the country.

Participants take part in the St Patrick's Day parade on the streets of DublinCredit: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Spectators line the route during the annual St Patricks Day paradeCredit: PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images

People enjoy drinking Guinness outside Temple Bar pubCredit: Getty - Contributor

2,000 gardai will be on duty for the capital’s eagerly awaited St Patrick’s Day celebrationsCredit: PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images

Boxing gold medal winner Kellie HarringtonCredit: ©2021 Paul Sherwood

Parades across the island were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic — with the same happening again last year.

But bumper crowds are gearing-up to attend St Patrick’s Day events tomorrow, and deliver an economic boost while doing so.

Some 77,000 passengers are expected to arrive in Dublin Airport each day this week, with many hotels fully booked.

Organisers last night revealed up to 400,000 people are to throng the flagship festival in the capital.

Other cities, towns and villages across the country will also hold events to toast our national day — as the entire world turns green.

With bars last night making final preparations for party time, publicans who were crippled by Covid-19 restrictions raised a glass to the return of the Paddy’s Day craic.

Donall O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the Licensed Vintners Association, told The Irish Sun: “It’s fantastic news to see a full programme of events is planned this year.

“St Patrick’s Day and the rest of the festivities are a vibrant and important part of the calendar for the pubs of Dublin, but it has extra significance this year.

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“In 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, pubs across Dublin and the country were required to close their doors in the interests of public health two days before St Patrick’s Day. Little did anyone realise this would be repeated the following year and it would be almost two years before pubs got back open again without major restrictions.

“So to be able to look forward to St Patrick’s Day again is a major moment for the pubs of Dublin and the rest of Ireland. Hopefully it will also mark the beginning of the reopening of Ireland for foreign tourists and help give the recovery of our tourism and hospitality sectors a helpful push.”

Brian Foley, of the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, told The Irish Sun: “For publicans across Ireland, St Patrick’s Day 2022 represents the end of a very long nightmare for the trade.

“The extra Bank Holiday, Cheltenham, the final Six Nations matches and tourists making an overdue return will make for a fantastic atmosphere in pubs all over the country. For many pubs this will be their busiest week since 2019 — so orders will have been placed well in advance.

“It’s going to be a great long weekend and we can’t wait for it to start. Don’t forget also that pubs stay open until 12.30am on both Wednesday and Thursday nights.”

2K COPS TO PATROL DUBLIN'S BIG DAY

THE Irish Sun has learned 2,000 gardai will be on duty for the capital’s eagerly awaited St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

We can reveal up to 650 gardai will police the parade in Dublin, while another 400 officers will complete normal duties.

Following completion of the parade, an extra 850 gardai will also be on duty across the city.

Those working on St Patrick’s Day include uniformed officers, community policing officers and plain clothes detectives.

They will also be supported by their colleagues in the Public Order Unit.

Gardai are also working closely with off-licences in the city centre who have agreed not to open until 4pm on Paddy’s Day. Anybody caught drinking on the street will have their alcohol removed.

Gardai will have a special control room based at Dublin Castle — known as ‘India Base’.

Chief Supt Patrick McMenamin will be running the security operation, while Chief Supt Michael McElgunn will be the operational commander on the ground.

A separate plan will be in place for Dublin’s Temple Bar and will be coordinated by Supt Dermot McKenna from Pearse Street Garda station.

Martin Harte, CEO of the Temple Bar Company, welcomed the policing plan for the city centre.

Mr Harte said: “We have a close relationship with the Gardai and high visibility and robust policing is reassuring.

“People are naturally a bit nervous about Thursday but they are also looking forward to welcoming people into the city in a safe environment.”

But amid the joy of being back in business, pubs pledged to remember the healthcare heroes who helped fight the virus.

Vintners rep O’Keeffe said: “After all that’s gone on over the last two years, many a publican in Dublin won’t just be raising a glass to St Patrick this year, but also to those in the health services and who were involved in the vaccine rollout that allowed us to reach this point.”

Organisers of the main parade yesterday promised the 2022 Dublin St Patrick’s Day event will be “the biggest, the brightest, the most creative we’ve ever had”.

Olympic and Paralympic sporting heroes Kellie Harrington and Ellen Keane will be the grand marshals of the parade, with Irish-American actor John C Reilly international guest of honour. Festival chiefs estimated that “possibly up to 400,000” people would be in Dublin for the parade.

Aileen Galvin, the festival’s head of public engagement, told how the crowd will come “from home and from across the country, and also internationally”.

While a huge contingent of tourists were flying in, Galvin also urged Irish people to come into Dublin city to lap up the parade.

She declared: “It’s as much for us as it is international, the paddywhackery is gone, this is really about us right now celebrating.”

But with a recent increase in Covid cases, Galvin pleaded with anyone with symptoms of the virus to stay away.

She said: “If you’re not feeling well, don’t come, please.

“There are no restrictions at the moment but we do encourage people to be careful and take their own personal precautions. If anybody wants to wear a mask, of course, they should wear a mask.”

DublinTown, the representative body for businesses in the Dublin’s Business Improvement District, told how this year’s visitor numbers will be close to the 2019 figures.

The group predicted “a high level” of footfall and spending in the city, with bars, restaurants and shops bracing for the influx.

DublinTown Chief Executive Richard Guiney beamed: “It’s going to be a fantastic week for visitors and business in the city.

“The St Patrick’s Festival is always a hugely important week for the city’s businesses, and it’s great that we now have a chance to celebrate it properly.

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“DublinTown has been working closely with businesses in the city, An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council to ensure the week goes smoothly, in terms of safety, security and street cleaning.

“We will also be closely monitoring footfall over the course of the week.”