Patrick Kielty named as Grand Marshal for Dublin's St Patrick's Day parade

Michael Bolton

Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty has been named as the Grand Marshal of the 2024 St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin.

The theme of this year’s Festival and Parade is ‘Spréach’, Irish for Spark.

Approximately 500,000 spectators are expected to line this year’s route, with the parade set to feature 18 pageants and performance showpieces, 14 marching bands from across Ireland, North America and France, and over 4,000 participants.

The St Patrick's festival gets underway on Saturday, March 16th.

The light that we send out to the world 💡✨💫

📸 : @dylanvaughanirl & @claremkeogh #StPatricksFestival #SPF24https://t.co/GfvB3JwDC2 pic.twitter.com/HTqpWbCaEb

— St. Patrick's Festival 🇮🇪🐍☘️💚 (@stpatricksfest) February 22, 2024

"I couldn’t be more excited to be this year’s Grand Marshal, and can’t thank the festival enough for asking me to be part of our biggest day," Kilety said.

"It’s such a honour to be asked and I was genuinely gobsmacked when the call came in.

"When you’re lucky enough to be called Patrick, St Patrick’s Day always feels like an extra birthday, and I can’t wait to get the world’s biggest party started on March 17th."

The festival's chief executive Richard Tierney said they are thrilled to have Kielty lead this year's parade, describing him as "someone who truly appreciates the spark of the Irish and who celebrates it through his work on our screens every Friday night".

"An expert in entertainment, we’re sure he’ll be thrilled by the incredible talent that will be showcased across the city on March 17th," Mr Tierney added.