It was on the eve of St Patrick s Day 2020, that the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson first announced new measures aimed at avoiding gatherings in crowded places, such as pubs, nightclubs and theatres.
The huge annual parade through London, which traditionally attracts up to 50,000 people, had already been cancelled due to Covid-19 health advice.
With few people yet familiar with the online world of Zoom, and with little time to organise any last-minute virtual events, the day was passed by many of the Irish in Britain and abroad, sitting at home for the first time. It was a very strange state of affairs. Basically everyone’s plans were cancelled, says Ruairí Cullen, policy officer with Irish in Britain, a charity supporting a wide network of Irish organisations across Britain.
BBC News
Published
St Patrick s Day celebrations will once again be different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Traditional parades in Belfast and Dublin have been cancelled for the second year in a row, with many events across the island again moving online.
Police have warned that anyone breaking Covid-19 regulations in NI will face a robust response.
But while large gatherings are mostly ruled out, attempts have been made to celebrate in style around the world.
image copyrightTourism Ireland’s Global Greening
image captionWhen the Global Greenings initiative was first launched, just the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland took part
March 16, 2021
As I followed the shuffling crowd toward the green river, I attempted to avoid getting trampled amid the low-toned shouts from drunken teenagers and leering 40-something couples. I stopped in a clothing shop, to be greeted by a police officer singing “Danny Boy” with a surprisingly smooth vibrato voice. “Ah, welcome! We are all Irish today,” he said.
As a native Chicago suburbanite who identifies as a Chicagoan on days like March 17, I say there’s nothing quite like St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago.
What began as a unique celebration of a religious and cultural holiday has evolved into a center for commercialization and day drinking for the “Chirish,” a term for the Chicago Irish. Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration grew to include the unique facet of dyeing the Chicago River, an attraction that draws more viewers than the parade.
“Happy St. Patrick s Day Weekend, Chicago!” she wrote in a tweet on Saturday marking Wednesday holiday. “Although we didn’t gather, we were able to honor long-standing tradition by dyeing the Chicago River green, thanks to the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers.”
“If you re heading out today, make sure to mask up and watch your distance,” she continued, pointing to guidelines advised by public health experts amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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The tweet also featured a photograph that appeared to show a worker putting dye into the river
Happy St. Patrick s Day Weekend, Chicago! ☘️
Although we didn’t gather, we were able to honor long-standing tradition by dyeing the Chicago River green, thanks to the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers. If you re heading out today, make sure to mask up and watch your distance. pic.twitter.com/UfU2GI74nC Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) March 13, 2021