The highly anticipated return of the spectacular national St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Thursday March 17th, winding its way through the streets of Dublin, from Parnell Square to St. Stephen’s Green, after a two-year absence.
Over the last six months, thousands of Irelands dynamic and innovative performers, musicians, designers, choreographers, pageant engineers, artists and makers have been working on delivering Ireland’s most ambitious street Parade ever. St. Patrick’s Festival 2022 is set to launch a new era of spectacle celebration that is an authentic reflection of contemporary Ireland.
The Parade will be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTE.ie, produced by St. Patrick’s Festival, Coco Content and RTÉ, promising an exciting new look and feel for millions of viewers in Ireland and across the world.
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh and Des Cahill will be joined this year by Emer O’Neill and Mícheál Ó Scannáil to present our national St. Patrick’s Day Parade coverage live from the streets of Dublin city from 12:15pm, Thursday March 17, on RTÉ One.
The theme of Festival 2022 is Connections (Naisc). The globally shared challenges of the last number of years have highlighted our vital and intrinsic need for human connection. The shared ties and bonds that draw us together are more obvious now than ever before. Pageant companies, artists, performers, and marching bands from across Ireland and the world will gather in Dublin on March 17 to present CONNECTIONS / NAISC, a celebration of shared stories, international connections and the common ground that has allowed us to forge powerful bonds as a nation and a people.
St. Patrick’s Festival will be announcing the Grand Marshal, as well as an International Guest of Honour, very soon
Pageants that feature in the festival parade include Inishowen Carnival with their spectacle “CAIBLEADH: Spirit Voices from the Sea”. This pageant includes large Sea Spirit characters and a host of Celtic Sea Spirit dancers and celebrates the rich depth of cultural heritage and connection to the sea, and the knowledge that is held within the Irish language. It even features a 20ft long sea serpent!
Wexford’s Bui Bolg will present “Celebrating Irish Sports” featuring floats and dancers focusing on the sports we love to play and watch, no matter our age or our ability.
Catapult will present “Heroes”, with national treasure Adam King leading the pageant in a celebration of the nation’s heroes who are so deserving of our love after the past couple of years. Known for his love of space, Adam will launch his virtual hugs far and wide in his own parade space shuttle.
Artastic (Kildare) and SPF Community Arts present “Acceptance and Love”, a spectacle of rainbows, hearts and international dances that symbolise the beauty of acceptance and love as they celebrate the diversity of the community we are all a part of.
A completely new take on the parade will see street artist Aches present “Connect + Inspire”, a moving sculptural creation inspired by the festival’s theme of connections, with choreography from Deirdre Griffin, Headonbody.
Waterford’s Spraoi return with a beautiful pageant celebrating arts and entertainment, “Birds of a Feather”. Five large bird creations each represent a specific music genre or artform.
Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride are bringing an explosion of colour and music to the parade to represent the connection between culture and the world of nightclubs and dance. Their pageant will celebrate the return of these spaces to the community.
Cork Puppetry Company will present “Rooting for You”, a message from their group to the young people of Ireland and across the globe. Their inspirational message to the youth watching will feature floats with rappers, dancers and will even feature a wishing tree, symbolising how we are all connected throughout the globe, from the inside out.
Waterways Ireland and St. Patrick’s Festival bring an exciting brand new element to this year’s parade with their Floating Garden which will be situated on the River Liffey. This floating garden will showcase a tapestry of wild biodiversity that celebrates the many connections our waterways offer us as a nation, threading together the four corners of Ireland.
The bands are back! The festival are delighted to welcome back to Ireland after 3 years in absence, the return of the bombastic sounds of the marching bands, for which the Parade would not be without. Our Irish stalwarts are back including Clondalkin Youth Marching Band and Artane Marching Band, Mullingar Town Band. Our European bands include The Spirit of 52 Marching Band, Germany and our coastal neighbours Morrisons Academy – Scottish Pipe Band, Scotland.
And of course, where would we be without those committed marching bands who travel each year from the United States, for 2022 we warmly welcome;
Awesome Second Time Arounders – Adult Community Marching Band, Florida; Wylie High School Band, Wylie, Texas; Cedar Rapids Metro Band, Iowa; University of Illinois Marching Illini, Illinois, Chicago; Hardin Simmons University “World Famous” Marching Cowboy Band, Abilene, Texas; Pride of Dayton Marching Band, Dayton, Ohio; University of North Texas, Denton, Texas; The Corning-Painted Post Hawks Marching Band, New York.
You can catch all of this and much more in the fantastic St. Patrick’s Day celebration on your TV screens on March 17, with coverage starting from 12:15pm on RTÉ One