St. Patrick's Festival, Ireland's national holiday celebrations, will celebrate the very best of Irish and international talent this March. For the first time in its history, St. Patrick's Festival has developed a three year theme and narrative for the parade of 'past, present and future', adopting the commemorative era in Ireland's history as its inspiration.
The 2014 festival parade theme, 'let's make history', draws on the 'past' as its inspiration and is the first step on this exciting, creative journey. In 2015, it will explore our present and 2016 will look to the future as the festival poses the question: 'who do we aspire to be in the next 100 years?' St. Patrick's Festival stalwarts such as the festival céilí, festival treasure hunt and festival big day out all return to this year's four day programme.
Also returning to the 2014 line up is the festival's highly distinguished cultural programme 'I Love My City', which marks its third year offering locals and visitors the chance to experience Dublin's rich and vibrant heritage. The series of free events sees established and emerging artists from a variety of disciplines including poetry, dance, visual art, filmmaking, history, literature, music and theatre perform in some of Dublin's most historical and culturally significant locations. The festival céilí at St. Stephen's Green will start things off on the Friday at 4.30pm, where the public are invited to put on their dancing shoes and get involved in a unique outdoor celebration of traditional Irish dance. The festival treasure hunt on Saturday is a free, fun filled and novel trail through a collection of Dublin City's landmark buildings and venues, a great way for all ages to discover Dublin City.
The Festival Big Day Out takes place on Sunday. Set in Georgian Dublin, this family event is bursting with colour, street performances, theatrics, Irish language events, workshops, fun zones, music and open air shows. Always popular with young reading enthusiasts, the UNESCO children's event will also be presented at this year's Festival Big Day Out. The festival's principal event, the St. Patrick's Festival Parade, takes place on Monday where Ireland's leading pageant companies will bring this year's theme, 'let's make history', to life on the streets of Dublin City.
The iconic festival parade welcomes the music of international marching bands as it journeys past some of the most famous and historic landmarks of Ireland's capital city.
