What time does the parade start? What's on and where this St Patrick's weekend

Almost every town and city in Ireland will be hosting a St Patrick’s Day parade once again after a two-year delay. Here are a few that caught our eye.

Cork city: The theme of the Cork city parade is ‘Heroes: Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times’.

The parade will celebrate the individuals and organisations who make a difference to their communities, especially during the pandemic.

Blood Bike South will be the the Grand Marshal and the parade begins at 1pm on Thursday.

Ballingeary: For anyone choosing to enjoy the comfort of home this St Patrick’s Day, catch the sounds and atmosphere of the Cork Gaeltacht on the radio.

An Saol ó Dheas will be broadcasting live from the parade in Béal Átha an Ghaorthaidh on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta from midday.

Cobh: A St Patrick’s Day parade will take place in the coastal town of Cobh from 3pm, plus markets, live entertainment and kids’ activities too.

Make sure you stick around for the fireworks display from 7.30pm as well for a memorable spectacle over the lower harbour area.

Limerick: In Limerick city, visual artists Buí Bolg will join Spotlight Stage School, Artastic, the Hit Machine Drummers and hundreds of local participants in a carnival of colour, music and spectacle from 12pm.

This year’s theme is ‘Belonging and Identity’ and members of the Limerick Senior Hurling Panel are this year’s Grand Marshal — and they’ll even have the Liam MacCarthy Cup with them.

Waterford: Lego-loving Finn Ryan from Ferrybank is the Grand Marshal of Waterford’s St Patrick’s Day parade.

Finn featured on last November’sLate Late Toy Show and made a lasting impression. The parade begins at 1pm and kicks off a new three-day festival in the city.

Sligo: Sligo’s 50th St Patrick’s Day parade begins at 12pmand is just part of a five-day festival in the town.

Chairman Finbarr Filan says they want a bigger and better parade than ever: "As well as the five days and nights of entertainment, we are actively trying to get more floats into the parade, with a real focus of fun, novelty and performance-based floats.”

Dublin: The national St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, starting at 12pm, will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and streamed on RTÉ.ie.

Millions of international viewers will join Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, Des Cahill, Emer O'Neill, and Mícheál Ó Scannáil for an exciting spectacle live from the streets of Dublin.

Culture and craic

From television specials to alcohol-free parties, there are plenty of quirky ways to celebrate the upcoming long weekend.

Stay up late: Host Ryan Tubridy will fly the Irish flag for a special St Patrick’s DayLate Late Show broadcast as he brings people together at home and abroad for a very special evening to celebrate the very best in Irish comedy, acting, traditional music, and sport.

Paint the town green: If you want to raise a toast to St Patrick, Teeling Distillery in Dublin has added something special to their tour: a limited edition ‘Paint the Town Green’ cocktail — a concoction of Teeling Small Batch, homemade spent grain orgeat syrup, citrus and apricot brandy.

The distillery is open daily from 11am until Sunday, March 20.

A fiery festival: Two fire-raising spectacles in aid of St Vincent De Paul have been added to Kilkenny’s 2022 programme.

There will be a fireworks display over Kilkenny Castle on March 18 and the Firestorm Fire and Dance Show by Rogu will take place outside Butler Gallery on St Patrick’s Night.

Tickets for both events are on sale at stpatricksfestivalkilkenny.com.

Staying sober: Looking to avoid alcohol on what is arguably the busiest day in Irish pubs?

The Clockwork Door in Temple Bar, Dublin is hosting a unique gathering from 3pm.

There will be a quiz and board games, all-inclusive virgin cocktails, tea, coffee, biscuits, popcorn and other snacks available all day. Plus it will stage an exciting escape room adventure.

Tickets for the non-alcohol Sober St Patrick's Day family party can be booked through @theclockworkdoor on Instagram.

Shop local: Nano Nagle Place is open on St Patrick’s Day and March 19, but it will also run outdoor markets on-site on Saturday and Sunday with trad music ad local design. ️

Families can also enjoy their Saints & Shamrocks trail.

Take a selfie: A Guinness Micro Museum has opened at Pygmalion bar and restaurant at Powerscourt Town House.

The self-guided walk-through experience runs for a week until Saturday, March 19, and explores the story of Guinness through the ages.

It also has lots of selfie opportunities, including the chance to get a picture with the Six Nations trophy on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Harping on: The Kabin Studio will join over 100 young musicians from Music Generation at St Patrick's Festival Quarter in Collins Barracks from 1pm on Saturday.

Music Generation’s young community of harpers, rappers, classical, folk, and traditional musicians unite to mark the premier of new Irish works and celebrate Ireland’s national emblem — the Harp.

Step this way: On Friday, Celtic Steps will perform a show at Cork’s Marina Market at 7pm.

The award-winning spectacle truly is a breathtaking performance that is a perfectly unique way to celebrate the long weekend.

Tickets are on sale from marinamarket.ie and cost €20 for children and €25 for adults.