Organisers of Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Festival have confirmed that mass gathering events due to take place over the next week have now been cancelled.
Yesterday, it was confirmed that Dublin’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus and now other major events around the festival have followed suit. In a statement, St. Patrick’s Festival says that ‘the National Public Health Emergency Team have today recommended that the national St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin on March 17th and the mass gathering events at the festival should not proceed.’
It is added that ‘the Board and Management of St. Patrick’s Festival welcome and support this decision in the best interests of public health.’
The news means that the following events will not take place:
March 17 National St. Patrick’s Festival Parade, Dublin
March 14-17 Festival Village, Merrion Square, Dublin
March 15 Treasure Hunt, Dublin
March 17 Céilí Mór, Merrion Square, Dublin
Cancellation of the 2020 St. Patrick's Festival Parade, Dublin and Mass Gathering Events Confirmed: https://t.co/K9we9D7M4B pic.twitter.com/Mkt6aaSYe9
— St. Patrick's Festival 🇮🇪🐍☘️💚 (@stpatricksfest) March 9, 2020
However, organisers say that ‘the St. Patrick’s Festival will continue to provide a vibrant and diverse world-class celebration of our national holiday for citizens and visitors alike through our extensive Cultural Programme, more than 100 small to medium scale events including music, theatre, talks and trails, exhibitions and more, running from March 13 – 17.’
More information on the St. Patrick’s Festival Cultural Programme can be found here.
