From the BBC:
“St
Patrick's Day: Countries celebrate Ireland's patron saint”
(Sydney Opera
House was one of the first landmarks to take part in the Global Greenings
Initiative, which is in its 12th year)
Countries
around the world are celebrating St Patrick's Day on Wednesday, with online
events replacing traditional parades. Landmarks across the globe turned green
for the day in honour of Ireland's patron saint. Large gatherings were ruled
out in many parts of the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traditional
parades in Belfast and Dublin have been cancelled for the second year in a row.
However events marking the day are taking place across Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland, which are being streamed online. They include an online
disco and live music events in Belfast, while more than 100 online events are
being held in the Republic of Ireland and broadcast around the world.
Extra police
Hundreds of extra police officers are on duty in Northern Ireland for a
"robust" response to St Patrick's Day rule breakers. Substantial
numbers patrol beauty spots as well as the Holyland in Belfast's university
area to break up house parties. Police moved in to close down gatherings
of young people in Botanic Gardens in south Belfast on Wednesday afternoon. The
PSNI said it had issued a number of fines for breaches of Covid regulations.
Supt Alan Todd said that local beauty spots had also come under extra
police scrutiny. First Minister Arlene Foster had warned that St
Patrick's Day "must be different" in Northern Ireland this year, to
ensure progress made during the coronavirus lockdown continues. Mrs
Foster said she was particularly concerned "about the places where crowds
would gather". "Of course people should mark St Patrick's Day,
but they should do it in a way that doesn't cause problems later on in the
month. "They should do it with their family, they should do it
inside their own bubble."
St Patrick's
Day celebrations move online In the Republic of Ireland, Gardaí (police)
said they would have a significant operation in place to deal with planned
protests in Dublin city centre. Sixteen people were arrested in Dublin
for failing to comply with directions from garda to abide by Covid-19
regulations. The Queen has extended her best wishes to the people of
Ireland for St Patrick's Day, 10 years after she visited. In her message
to Irish President Michael D Higgins, she said: "We share ties of family,
friendship and affection, the foundation of our partnership that remains as
important today as 10 years ago."
Go green Since
2010, landmarks around the world have gone green in honour of St Patrick and
this year, a record number of places are taking part. Some 690 sites in
66 countries will take part in Tourism Ireland's Global Greenings initiative.
Alongside more famous landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Leaning
Tower of Pisa will be more quirky ones such as an abandoned sauna tilted on its
side beside a lake in Finland, and a solar power-generated giraffe in
Mozambique. In Chicago, officials had cancelled the annual colouring of
the Chicago River but the city's mayor decided to continue with the tradition,
minus the fanfare. Traditionally, a bowl of shamrock is presented to the
US president every year on 17 March by the visiting taoiseach (Irish PM). That
long-standing tradition continued this year, albeit virtually. The bowl
was placed on President Joe Biden's desk during his meeting with Taoiseach
Micheál Martin on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed, among other
things, combating Covid-19 and supporting political and economic stability in
Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers
also held a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice-President
Kamala Harris. Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said:
"I acknowledged and welcomed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's
bipartisan resolution passed yesterday which expressed full support for the
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and no hard border in Ireland. "It
also insists that any new US/UK trade agreement must take into account,
conditions requiring that obligations under the Good Friday Agreement are met.
"I invited both President Biden and Vice-President Harris to visit the
north when both sides of the Atlantic overcome the Covid-19 global health
pandemic, and together recover and rebuild our societies and economies."
Analysis box
by Stephen Walker, NI political correspondent They might not have been in
the same room but President Biden and the taoiseach were still able to
virtually wish each other a Happy Saint Patrick's Day. It was a day of a
firsts - a first for Joe Biden as president who pledged his support for the
Good Friday Agreement. Referring to the Good Friday Agreement he said:
"We strongly support y and think it is critically important that we
maintain it. The political and economic stability of Northern Ireland is very
much in the interest of all our peoples." And it was also Mr
Martin's first St Patrick's Day as taoiseach. He said he wanted to move
forward with a "positive relationship with the UK." "That
means standing by what has been agreed and working together to make a success
of it. "That in turn then can help maintain peace and promote
greater reconciliation on our shared island - goals I know you support,"
he added. St Patrick lived in the 5th Century and is understood to have
played a major part in converting the Irish to Christianity. He is
traditionally associated with the shamrock plant, which he used to explain the
Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. St Patrick's Day started as a religious
feast to celebrate his work, but it has grown to be an international festival
of all things Irish.
^ Hopefully, this
is the last St. Patrick’s Day that is celebrated in this way and that starting
next year the parades and other celebrations can come back. ^
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