CORK city is expected to see its largest ever Patrick's Day parade on March 17 featuring over 3,500 participants in 55 groups.

The much-loved parade will take begin at 1pm on the familiar route from South Mall to Merchants Quay, to a theme of 'A Century of Stories'.

The festivities are expected to attract thousands to the city. To facilitate the parade, Cork City Council and An Garda Siochana have outlined a number of traffic restrictions, which will include road closures and reduced availability of parking spaces.

The following main streets will be directly affected and will be closed from 11:15 am on Friday, March 17.

· Parliament Street 

· Parliament Bridge 

· Washington Street between South Main Street and Grand Parade 

· Parnell Place 

· Fr Matthew Quay 

· Morrison’s Quay 

· Half Moon Street 

· Academy Street 

· Drawbridge Street 

· St Augustine Street 

· Paul Street 

· Oliver Plunkett Street 

To facilitate these road closures, traffic diversions will be put in place as follows:

Traffic on South Terrace and George’s Quay will be diverted via Sullivan’s Quay and Frenche’s Quay to Greenmount, Washington Street and Bachelor’s Quay.

Motorists wishing to travel on Lavitt’s Quay at this time will instead be diverted across Christy Ring Bridge.

There will be no public traffic access allowed on Lapp’s Quay.

Road closures and restrictions will also be in place across the city at various times to allow for festival preparations.

On Friday, March 17 from 7am to 4pm, Copley Street, Union Quay, Stable Lane, Connell Street and Lapps Quay will remain restricted to public vehicle access.

From 10:30am to 4pm, these restrictions will extend to Parnell bridge Southbound and Anglesea Street West Lane.

On Friday from 11:15am to 3pm Terence McSweeney Quay will be inaccessible to motorists.

In addition to this, at 11:15 to 5:30pm, Parnell Bridge, Parnell Place, South Mall, Grand Parade, St Patrick’s Street, St Patrick’s Bridge, Castle Street, Merchant’s Quay, Lavitt’s Quay East and Anderson’s Quay Westbound will be restricted.

Parking Restrictions 

On Thursday, March 16, parking will be restricted from 7 am on Copley Street, on the area adjacent to the former Brooks Haughton Building. These restrictions will remain in place until 6pm on Friday, March 17.

Parking will also be restricted on Copley Street (Opposite the former Brooks Haughton Building), Anglesea Street and Lapp’s Quay between 2pm Thursday, March 16 to Friday March 17 at 6pm.

Patrick’s Street, Emmet Place, Academy Street, South Mall, Grand Parade and Union Quay will all see parking being restricted from 8pm on March 16 until 5:30pm on March 17.

A Park and Ride service will operate every 12 minutes to and from Black Ash and Anglesea Street throughout St Patrick’s Day.

The first service will depart at Black Ash at 8:35am and the last service will depart from Anglesea Street at 8:30pm.

Bus services across the city will operate on a normal Sunday frequency, however some routes may differ due to diversions.

To ensure safety, Gardai have advised those attending the Cork St Patrick’s Day Parade to adhere to the following:

· Arrive early.

· Park legally 

· Use public transport is possible.

· Vehicles obstructing traffic, emergency vehicles and access to property will be towed.

· Do not leave valuables in cars.

· Cooperate with Gardai and stewards.

· Remember that Disabled Parking Spaces must not be used unless a relevant parking disc is displayed.

· Do not drive while intoxicated.

· Enjoy the parade.