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Hundreds of thousands of revellers celebrate St Patrick's Day around the world

Participants take part in the St Patrick's Day parade on the streets of Dublin. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire.
Participants take part in the St Patrick's Day parade on the streets of Dublin. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire. Participants take part in the St Patrick's Day parade on the streets of Dublin. Picture by Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

HUNDREDS of thousands of people took part in St Patrick's Day celebrations around the globe yesterday - with more than a dozen parades taking place in the Republic.

In Dublin, huge crowds turned out for the main parade, which began at Parnell Square and proceeded down O'Connell Street.

This year's procession, which had the theme `Ireland You Are', featured Irish street theatre companies and bands, which were joined by performers from the US, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Bahamas.

The Grand Marshall of the parade this year was Olympic silver medallist, Annalise Murphy.

In Limerick, some 4,000 people took place in the city's annual St Patrick’s Day parade.

Around 50,000 people turned out to watch the festivities, which involved almost 100 different community and theatre groups, companies, sports clubs and bands.

Limerick Person of the Year and 14-year-old cyber-bullying campaigner Luke Culhane led out the parade while a special reception was given to members of the Search and Rescue teams in the parade, following the recent tragedy off the coast of Mayo.

The parade included a fleet of Viking longboats, which brought the story of the River Shannon to life and Chinese dragons.

Elsewhere, many of the world's most recognisable landmarks went green for St Patrick's Day, including the the Sky Tower in New Zealand, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the `Welcome' sign in Las Vegas.

In New York, the annual St Patrick's Day parade drew massive crowds as thousands lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue for New York's annual parade.

In London, the Duchess of Cambridge sipped a pint of Guinness after watching a parade of the Irish Guards with Prince William.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny travelled to the One World Observatory at the top of the One World Trade Centre to flip a ceremonial switch to light buildings green throughout New York City as part of the Global Greening initiative.

The spire on top of One World Trade Center was among the noted landmarks lit green, as well as 240 buildings around the world.

Also in New York, a group of Irish and US artists and activists last night held a rally and concert for civil rights at the iconic Riverside Church in Manhattan.

The `Irish Stand' initiative took place just days after Mr Kenny invited US President Donald Trump to visit Ireland.

The event was organised in collaboration with a range of groups representing African American, Muslim, Jewish, LGBT and other groups speaking out against the policies of the Trump administration.