St Patrick's Day: A sea of green as thousands take part in parades

Thousands of revellers lined Belfast City Centre today (Friday) for the annual St Patrick's Day parade.

The Day itself kicked off with a 10km race from Belfast City Hall to Ormeau Park.

Then the main parade started at Belfast City Hall and travelled along along Chichester Street, Victoria Street, High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place, before returning to its starting point.

The parade was led by Belfast Lord Mayor Tina Black,

The rain held off In Belfast as floats, street artists and dance troupes made their way through the city centre.

The theme for this year's event was voices of Belfast and it was billed as a celebration of Belfast's music heritage from pop to punk and traditional to disco.

Meanwhile, in the North West Londonderry was transformed into a "sea of green".

The Derry Spring Carnival programme began at lunchtime while a parade in Strabane got under way a little later.

Check out some of the highlights from the day ☘️

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• st patrick's day 2023