St Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s most important Patron Saint, is celebrated today by the Irish all over the world – in fact St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national holiday.

In the US, impressive parades, festivals and events were organized by the Irish diaspora in many metropolises.

In Chicago, in a tradition dating back to 1962, the city’s Plumbers Union dropped 50 kilograms of green paint into the river, creating a spectacle that attracted thousands of spectators.

The day commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and is an occasion for celebrating Irish culture and ancestry across the globe.

St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Possession of Montserrat.

It is also celebrated in many other countries where there is a sizeable Irish diaspora, particularly in Great Britain, Canada, the United States of America, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.