Manchester - St Patrick's Day Parade
The first St Patrick’s Day Parade in Manchester was held on the 17 March 1990, organised by the Irish World Heritage Centre. It led to St Chad’s Church and finished with a Mass before returning to the Irish Centre. It was for the Irish community, kept rather private. A lot has changed since then. Now Manchester's St. Patrick's Parades is part of the Irish Festival , over four days. The celebrations include music, dance, literature at the launch night, Irish Markets, and various charity events, and finally, St Patrick's Day Parade, on Sundays - closest to 17th March, each year. This allows many onlookers and participants to join in and to promote the Irish culture over a wider spread of society. The parade still starts at the Irish World Heritage Centre , at noon, but goes through the city centre, along Deansgate. Over the years, there have been numbers of the Irish Government representatives present, including the Taoiseach of Ireland and ministers. Usually