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Dublin’s decade of St. Patrick’s fun
Visitors flooding in to Dublin for this year’s St Patrick’s Day Festival are set to generate more than £56million for the city’s economy.
The 10th anniversary of the event is poised to see all spending records broken as tens of thousands of people descend on the Irish capital from across the world.
The five-day event starts on March 16 with organisers predicting it is likely to be the biggest yet.
Festival Parade Director Carina McGrail said: “The festival celebrates its 10th birthday this year and the impact on tourism is expected to be higher than ever.”
More than 3,500 people participate in the festival and organisers have already received applications from groups wanting to participate in the parade next year and in 2007.
Events include street theatre, art exhibitions, dance and live music performances, the country’s largest outdoor ceili and a comedy circus.
Spectators can look forward to the SkyFest fireworks show at the Docklands on Saturday March 19 in which seven tonnes of fireworks will be used.
Many hotels say they are booked solid for the entire five days of the festival and guesthouses and bed and breakfasts are also reporting good business.
The festival also brings a bonanza for pubs, restaurants and shops in the centre of Dublin.
One bar owner said: “It’s a peak time of the year for us — even better the Christmas and New Year as you have thousands of tourists coming in who are looking to spend money.
“Trade has grown solidly every year and we are confident this year will see takings up yet again. We’ve taken on more bar staff to cope with the demand.”
Sponsorship has also grown steadily over the past 10 years and 2005 will see the highest level of brand involvement
to date.
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