St. Patrick’s Day around the world
Across the globe, St. Patrick’s Day 2016 was a pageant of revelry, faith and activism. In Dublin, crowds filled the streets for a glimpse of large, colorful floats. In Northern Ireland, pilgrims walked to St. Patrick’s resting place. In New York, former protesters became marchers with an end to a ban on openly gay parade participants.
- Police officer Sgt. Slavin marches with his son in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, one of the largest and oldest in the world, on Thursday in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
- A man holds up a Gay Pride flag at the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, one of the largest and oldest in the world, on Thursday in New York City. Now that a ban on openly gay groups has been dropped, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is attending the parade for the first time since he became mayor in 2014. The parade goes up Fifth Avenue ending at East 79th Street and will draw an estimated 2 million spectators along its 35-block stretch. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
- Parade goers pose on 5th Avenue during the 255th New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade on Thursday. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
- The fountain on the North Lawn of the White House is colored green in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day on Thursday in Washington, DC. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
- Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, wearing green-tinted glasses, warms up as he stands on deck in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, in Fort Myers, Fla. The team wore green-themed uniforms in observance of St. Patrick’s Day. (Tony Gutierrez/AP)
- The annual Saint Patrick’s Day pilgrimage from Saul church to Downpatrick cathedral takes place on Thursay in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. Saint Patrick, who converted Ireland to Christianity, is celebrated as the patron saint of Ireland on the 17th of March, St. Patrick’s Day, which is said to be the date of his death in the early part of the fifth century. The service and 2-mile pilgrimage from Saul to Saint Patrick’s resting place charts his arrival in Ireland at Saul. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
- A church goer adjusts his shamrock during the annual Saint Patrick’s Day service and pilgrimage from Saul church to Downpatrick cathedral on Thursday in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
- Church goers take turns in carrying the a staff representing Saint Patrick during the annual Saint Patrick’s Day service and pilgrimage from Saul church to Downpatrick cathedral on Thursday in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
- Britain’s Prince William, center bottom row, in his capacity as Colonel of the Regiment, sits for a group photograph with Warrant Officers and Sergeants after presenting traditional sprigs of shamrock in the 1st Battalion Irish Guards’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, at the Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, west London, on Thursday. (Matt Dunham/AP)
- Racegoers dressed in fancy dress arrive at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham England on Thursday. Cheltenham always attracts a large number of Irish people to the Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
- Performers from Ireland’s Artastic cultural group parade down O’Connell Street on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland, on Thursday. (Shawn Pogatchnik/AP)
- Joanne ORiordan, 19, Ireland’s most high-profile campaigner for disabled rights and this year’s grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, greets spectators on OConnell Street, Dublin, on Thursday. (Shawn Pogatchnik/AP)
- Participants take part in the St Patrick’s Day parade on the streets of Dublin on Thursday. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
- A spectator arrives to watch the St Patrick’s Day parade on the streets of Dublin on Thursday. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
- Participants take part in the St Patrick’s Day parade on the streets of Dublin on Thursday. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)