Highlights from St. Patrick's Festival 2024

On the 16th and 17th of March we danced, sang, ate, drank, played and got up to a whole load of devilment in a celebration of the very best in Irish music, dancing, craic, conversation, workshops, street theatre, circus, food and drink and so much more in St. Patrick’s Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. We listened to stunning artists in our Tigín, danced a Céilí in the Halla Mór, sampled the finest artisan Irish food in our brand new Bia Mall space, and indulged in a whole load of spraoi agus súgradh.

On the 17 March, we brought joy to the streets of Dublin as we welcomed half a million people to the global centre of all things Irish – the iconic National St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Spectacular pageants, stunning costumes, raucous revelry, epic marching bands from all around the world, and craic go leor! We worked once again with Kia Ireland on one of the biggest WOW! moments of the Parade, we cheered on Team Ireland sponsored by PTSB, and we sang Happy Birthday to another Irish icon, Mr. Tayto, who is 70 years young. We celebrated the power of Dublin's North East Inner City with Dublin City Council and the North East Inner City Initiative as part of our biggest Community Pageant yet. We welcomed communities from all across Dublin and Ireland, bringing their own unique spark to our National Day.

This year we put on our Greenest St. Patrick’s Festival ever, putting sustainability at the core of everything we do. From new initiatives in production and audience experience all the way through to installations in Festival Quarter, St. Patrick’s Festival, in collaboration with our wonderful partners, showed the very, very many shades of green that make up this unique Festival.

For the first time ever we created a Relaxed Parade Space sponsored by Dublin City Council and supported by Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí De Róiste, welcoming neurodivergent people and their families in to a space created to support and facilitate their access and enjoyment of the Parade, making 2024 our most accessible Festival to date. Thank you to our partners As I Am (Asiam.ie) and Neurodiversity Ireland, and to the team who helped us to put the Relaxed Parade Space together. Thank you especially to all of the families who hopped aboard our maiden voyage in this space.

All across Dublin locals and visitors alike participated in events throughout the Festival as part of our One City Programme – an incredible, eclectic programme of events taking in everything from contemporary dance to traditional song and storytelling, from wellness, to brand new theatre pieces, from walking tours to the most riotous take on an Irish WAKE! That you can imagine!

Thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors for their support of this year's festival. Your contribution played a vital role in making the St. Patrick’s Festival a resounding success! Kia Ireland, Team Ireland, PTSB, Guinness Storehouse, Mr. Tayto, Nomadic, Dublin Airport, Irish Ferries, WiFicandy, European Recycling Platform Ireland, Every Can Counts, Actavo, DoDublin.

Huge thank you to our amazing media partners RTÉ, Mediahuis and FM104 for all of their support, and for embracing the Festival and it's programme so wholeheartedly.

Thank you to all of our wonderful partners who work hand in hand with the Festival, helping us to dream big and to achieve the seemingly impossible. The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Fóras na Gaeilge, GOAL, Ambassade de France en Irlande, the Welsh Government, CoisCéim Dance Theatre, City of Dublin Youth Services, the North East Inner City Iniatiative, and Rye River Brewing Co.

Thank you to the National Museum of Ireland and to the OPW - Office of Public Works for helping us to create such a wonderful, atmospheric and fun-filled space in Festival Quarter at Collins Barracks.

Huge thanks to all of the artists, bands, pageants teams and performers, participants, crew - to everybody on the stage and off, up front and centre and behind the scenes for helping us to bring this Festival to life. Thank you to our wonderful team of Volunteers also, without whom, we’re sure the whole Festival would fall asunder!

Thank you to our amazing Board, and the incredible staff of St. Patrick's Festival - without your support, hard work, commitment, ingenuity, creativity and friendship, we wouldn't be able to achieve the miracles that we do every year.

And finally, thanks to YOU, our wonderful audience, for joining us in a show of joyous celebration, for lighting a Spark after a long winter, for helping us to turn our face to the world, inviting everybody to be Irish for a few days in March.

See you in Dublin for #SPF25 ☘️ ☘️ ☘️

Video by Bearfoot Productions.