After a two year hiatus, St Patrick's Day parades return to Ireland

After a two-year absence due to coronavirus (COVID-19), the annual St. Patrick's Day parade made its return in person. 

From marching bands to leprechauns, thousands of participants sang, played and danced through the streets of Dublin on Thursday (March 17). 

Thousands of Irish and international visitors flocked to the capital Dublin and beyond for the annual celebration of all things Irish, waving flags and in fancy dress. 

Events celebrating Ireland's patron saint were some of the first to be called off in 2020 as mass gatherings were shelved, pubs closed and international travel curtailed. 

But with the restrictions now lifted, Ireland was ready to party, and the government and organisers of Dublin's giant parade billed this year's event as a symbol of the country's return after Covid. 

The government declared the celebrations "in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, acknowledging their resilience and courage and assuring them of our unwavering support". 

Along the parade route, normally swathed almost entirely in green, lamp-post banners and the bridges over the River Liffey flew the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine.

The Dublin parade normally takes 18 months to organise. The go-ahead was only given in January, forcing organisers to work around the clock to make it happen, said festival director Anna McGowan. 

"It has been just one of the most intense planning periods I think this festival has ever seen," she told news agency AFP.

Dublin Airport has said it expects 800,000 passengers to travel through in the 12-day St Patrick's Day period from March 12 to March 24. 

Hollywood actor John C. Reilly, from Chicago, was appointed international guest of honour - one of many participants from the United States, to where many Irish emigrated in the 19th and 20th centuries.