Press Releases

The Science of Fun at St. Patrick’s Festival 2012

Where will you be this St. Patrick’s weekend? Ireland will stage the best St. Patrick’s celebrations to mark our country’s national Holiday with a fantastic programme of events to entertain young and old over the four day Festival on the capital’s streets. In recognition of Dublin’s status as The City of Science, the Festival parade and ever-popular city Treasure Hunt is this year inspired by the how, what and why of science. Dublin will come alive with pageantry, carnivals and free entertainment from 16th – 19th March, drawing from the very best in Irish and international talent.

Full Festival Programme to be announced on 23rd February

The sense of discovery, wonder and amazement of science will truly come alive in spectacular style on the streets of Dublin on 17th March.  Ireland’s leading pageant companies have explored a selection of science questions that children may ask, such as ‘How is a rainbow formed?’, ‘What makes the weather change? , Why do we dream?’’ and each will present their imaginative, colourful, remarkable and thought provoking creations on the streets of the capital during the Festival parade. The visual response to these questions is sure to delight the audience of over 1 million people who will watch the parade. Marching ensembles from around the globe will provide the musical score for the Festival parade - bands from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Russia will join U.S. bands from California, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Washington to march through the streets of the capital.

Susan Kirby, CEO of St. Patrick’s Festival, feels the 2012 programme of events will have something for everyone: “Our St. Patrick’s Festival is one of the largest artistic presentations of its kind in the world and the atmosphere in the city is always electric. This year, we will be hosting some of the best events that the capital has ever seen, with something for all ages, nationalities and tastes – and best of all, lots of them are free! The collaboration with Dublin City of Science 2012 also links us to a year-long celebration and will open up the city in a whole new way for many people.  Above all, this is a national celebration and a chance for everyone to come along and enjoy all of the fun of the Festival!”

Other Festival favourites, such as the St. Patrick’s Festival Céilí are back on the line up for 2012. Kicking off the Festival in style on 16th March, visitors will be immersed in Irish culture and craic at this outdoor celebration of traditional Irish dancing.  This popular event offers a unique and fun-filled way to spend an afternoon dancing on the streets of Dublin. Expert callers will lead the crowd through dances such as the Siege of Ennis, the Walls of Limerick and lots more.

For a true taste of Irish culture and music, be sure to get to Céilí House Live in Concert
(in association with RTÉ Radio 1) on Saturday evening, 17th March at the eminent National Concert Hall. Enjoy a traditional evening of the best of Irish music and song this St. Patrick’s Day as the specially assembled Céilí House All-Stars Céilí band will ensure a rousing St. Patrick’s evening for all. Tickets are available priced from €15-35 at the National Concert Hall box office (01 4170000 or www.nch.ie).

The Festival Big Day Out (March 18th), set in the heart of Georgian Dublin in Merrion Square offers a rousing celebration of Irish and international street arts and more for all the family to enjoy from 12pm-6pm.

Another Festival stalwart, the Festival Treasure Hunt (Monday, 19th March), is this year programmed with a scientific theme – Discovering Science Treasure Hunt is a Free fun trail through a collection of Dublin city’s landmark buildings and venues each with their own science related connection. Street theatre, funfairs and outdoor performances will also be dotted around the city to add to the celebratory atmosphere. Also on Monday 19th the City’s first children’s citywide reading project, run by Dublin City Libraries and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, will conclude with an exciting event at Connolly station.  Children around the city have been encouraged to read Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent, by first time Irish writer, Alan Early throughout January to March.  A serpent themed train will host a variety of children’s activities including workshops and fun Q&A sessions with the author.

St. Patrick’s Festival will take place in 2012 from 16th – 19th March. See www.stpatricksfestival.ie.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Chris Kelly, Fleishman-Hillard, on 01 6188415 / 0863096427 or chris.kelly@fleishmaneurope.com
Kevin Moore, Fleishman-Hillard on 01 6188499 / 0868252611 or Kevin.moore@fleishmaneurope.com

NOTES FOR THE EDITOR:

The principle aim of St. Patrick’s Festival, since its inauguration, is to develop a major annual international festival around the national holiday over which the ‘owners’ of the festival, the Irish people, would stand proud. It sets out to reflect the talents and achievements of Irish people on many national and world stages, and it acts as an exciting showcase for the manifold skills of the people of Ireland, of every age and social background.

As the one national holiday that is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other, St. Patrick’s Day is the day when everyone wants to be Irish.

Why was it started? 
- To offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebration in the world
- To create energy and excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity
- To provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations
- To project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal.

The first St Patrick’s Festival was held over one day, and night, on March 17th 1996. The live audience for the day was estimated to be 430,000.
In 1997, we dropped the word “Day” from our title and it became “St. Patrick’s Festival”, a three day event. The festival has since grown to become a four day festival and in 2001 was enjoyed by 1.2million people.

Preparation for the first St Patrick’s Festival used to take only 5 months, but with the growth of the Festival, it now takes 18 months to plan for Ireland’s biggest annual celebration.