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- In Downpatrick, early risers made their way to Saul Church – believed to be St Patrick’s first church in Ireland
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- Irish President Michael D Higgins also attended church first thing, for St Patrick’s Day mass in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral
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- In Ballycastle in Country Antrim, crowds turned out for the town’s first St Patrick’s Day parade in seven years
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- People from all over the world travelled to take part in the celebrations, including this group who have come from Italy, Sweden and the US to Dublin
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- The parade in Armagh saw people acting out the scene of St Patrick chasing the snakes out of Ireland
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- Organisers of the Belfast parade described it as a diverse, multi-cultural, cross-community celebration of Saint Patrick
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- The parade, which set off from Belfast City Hall, is the centrepiece of a 17-day programme of celebrations
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- The theme of Londonderry’s parade was ‘Forest, Sky and Sea’
- Image source, DCSDC
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- Crowds lined Shipquay Street to watch as the parade made its way through the city centre
- Image source, DCSDC
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- Derry’s celebrations also marked the arrival of Spring
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- People also gathered in the city’s Guildhall Square for a concert featuring Irish traditional music
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Slide 1 of 11, Crowd of people queuing outside the entrance of a stone church , In Downpatrick, early risers made their way to Saul Church – believed to be St Patrick’s first church in Ireland
Festivities are underway across the island of Ireland as part of the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Thousands of people have lined the streets in Belfast city centre for the annual St Patrick’s Day parade.
Parades have also taken place in Londonderry, Enniskillen, Downpatrick, Newry and Armagh and – for the first time in seven years – in Ballycastle.
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