Stay in and watch TV... for St Patrick’s Day you’ll remember

FOR a second successive year, St Patrick’s Day has been cancelled... well, the outdoor events and parades at least, owing to the ongoing pandemic.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t fly the flag for Ireland and raise a toast to the saint from the comfort of your own home.

There are several special programmes lined up on Wednesday to mark March 17.

Get the ball rolling at 1pm on RTÉ with a Today Show St Patrick’s Day Special, and join Dáithí Ó Sé and Maura Derrane for a special episode of their popular programme filled with chat, music and prizes.

It will feature Daniel and Majella O Donnell, astronaut Chris Hadfield, Fr Brian D’Arcy, Mary McAleese and more, and we also get to witness some of the unique virtual parades happening all over the country.

Úna Healy, Mundy and Soulé will be performing, and the virtual audience will be in with a chance of winning 18 amazing staycation giveaways.

Plus, the winner from more than 7,000 entries for the RTÉ Eye on Nature competition is revealed.

On Wednesday evening, catch A St Patrick’s Festival Celebration on RTÉ1 at 6.30pm. This celebration of culture and creativity will make you proud to be Irish.

Presented by Baz Ashmawy, there will be music, dance, poetry, visual arts, comedy and craic — uplifting, inspiring performances — lighting up the night all over the country.

The programme will be a stunning mix of wild colour, national character and visually arresting performances celebrating all the cultural elements of the St Patrick’s Day Festival.

See a vibrant musical act from Soulé, a short film from award-winning performer Mark Smith, a hilarious new comedy sketch from Foil, Arms and Hog and a specially commissioned poem from spoken word artist Stephen James Smith featuring young people from all 32 counties in Ireland.

There will also be a very special performance from the Hot House Flowers and an awe-inspiring drone show lighting up the skies over our capital city.

Finally, round off the day with The Late Late Show St Patrick’s Day Special on RTÉ1 at 9.35pm.

Ryan Tubridy will host the evening’s festivities, with Irish people from across the world invited to apply to be part of the virtual audience on the night, as the show broadcasts on a Wednesday night for the first time in its nearly 60-year history!