St Patrick’s Day returned to the city on Sunday with thousands of honorary and genuine Irishmen and woman in high spirits, adorning the green of their nation.
McCooley’s Irish bar prepared for the festivities by stocking up on over 8,000 pints of Guinness, and the black stuff was going down a treat in pubs all over Liverpool.
The celebrations commenced with a parade at midday, displaying authentic Irish music alongside performances by the Liverpool Katumba Drummers, Liverpool Irish Flute Band and the Corduff Pipe Band.
The procession headed down Hope Street, then all across town before eventually getting back onto Benson street where the parade ended.
Richie Tunstall, 39, musical director of Katumba Drummers said: “It’s our second year doing this parade. They approached us to make it more multicultural and we are more than happy to demonstrate that for Liverpool’s huge Irish connection.
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“It’s good to support that type of integration and it’s great to see people from loads of different backgrounds celebrating together and creating harmony. There’s a lot of division between people nowadays because of Brexit, so it’s great to be a catalyst to bring people together. It’s an honour to take part.”
People flocked from around the world to experience the special day in Liverpool, with some travelling from as far as Australia and Brazil.
Ronan Gallagher, 49, travelling from Donegal, said: “The celebrations here are fantastic. Liverpool really is a second home for the Irish and it is really positive to see the amount of effort that’s put on here.”
Melissa Jackson, 53, from Aigburth told JMU Journalism: “It is a great way to start it all off. I’m glad that this is what a lot of people’s first impressions of the city will be.”
Jarlath Monaghan, 24, from Larne said: “I always love coming to Liverpool, it’s like a home away from home. It’s testament to how good the celebrations are here that a lot of Irish folks are leaving Ireland to celebrate here.”
Edel Keown, 19, from Belfast perhaps summed it up best when he told JMU Journalism: “The weather might be rubbish but the Irish spirit will always be here in Liverpool.”