Paris celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day 2018

More than twenty historic and emblematic sites sported the Irish colour, including the Irish Embassy, the Centre Culturel Irlandais, the iconic BHV Marais and Galeries Lafayette department stores, the Publicis Building on the Champs-Elysées and, for the first time, the Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde – all contributing to the #GlobalGreening initiative, created by Tourism Ireland to unite major cities and landmarks all over the world in their celebration of Ireland and its national saint.

Members of NetworkIrlande were present at the official St Patrick’s Day reception at the invitation of H.E. Patricia O’Brien, Ambassador of Ireland to France and Honorary President of NetworkIrlande. It was also the occasion for members to meet the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty T.D., who underlined the importance of the relationship between Ireland and France in the context of Brexit in her address to guests attending the reception.

The weekend also saw the first-ever Saint Patrick’s Day Parade take to the streets of Paris, with more than 250 people braving the icy conditions to march with the parade organisers Irish in France and Ambassador O’Brien in the 5^th arrondissement. Participating organisations and associations included the Paris District and Pipe Band, members of Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, and the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris Gaels, the Sarah Clark Academy of Irish Dancing, UCD Alumni France Chapter, Maynooth Alumni France, and the members of NetworkIrlande who contributed to the atmosphere, including our president Richard Dujardin who sported the appropriate headgear in honour of the day!

The spirit of Franco-Irish friendship continued all through the afternoon as the  “parade” adjourned to watch Ireland achieve an incredible Grand Slam victory at Twickenham, a joyous moment for all who watched the match and an excellent way to round off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

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