‘Green Light’ For St Patrick’s Celebrations
More than 250 iconic landmarks and sites around the world will be illuminated green over the coming days – as part of Tourism Ireland’s 2018 Global Greening initiative to celebrate the island of Ireland and St Patrick.
Each year, Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening sees world famous sites such as the London Eye, Niagara Falls (pictured) and the Colosseum in Rome turning a shade of green to celebrate the Emerald Isle’s national day (March 17).
In Dublin, the “St Patrick Festival” kicked off yesterday. For five days, the capital city will be alive with culture and fun, with street carnival, theatre and guided historic walks, including famous sites such as the Guinness Storehouse.
The highlight of the festival is the St Patrick’s Festival Parade, which this year welcomes Star Wars legend Mark Hamill who is in town to celebrate his Irish roots. He will be taking his place as International Guest of Honour to watch the famous parade on March 17.
In Northern Ireland, the “Home of St Patrick Festival” celebrates St Patrick, the man and the saint, as one of the world’s most inspiring and loved saints of all time. Taking place in the landscape of Counties Armagh and Down, which was once Patrick’s home, the festival culminates on St Patrick’s Day with “The Voice of the Irish” concert in the Town Hall, Newry.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, commented, “This is the ninth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see even more well-known attractions and landmark sites getting involved. The eagerness of cities and countries everywhere to take part underlines the strength of the deep connection that people all over the world feel to Ireland.
“More than 70 million people around the world claim links to the island of Ireland and St Patrick’s Day is a truly unique opportunity to reconnect them with their heritage. We are thrilled that this year, Mark Hamill is celebrating his Irish roots and returning to Ireland for the first time since the shoot of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, to help us to celebrate our national day.”
