A member of the Limerick Filipino Community beams at the crowd during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Limerick. Photo by Sean Curtin / True Media

18 March 2019 LONDON—Filipinos in Ireland joined thousands in celebrating this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration by showcasing different Philippine festivals in various parades that took place in several Irish cities such as Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Galway, to name a few. The St. Patrick’s Day parades simultaneously took place on 17 March.

St. Patrick’s Day or the Feast of St. Patrick is Ireland’s largest cultural and religious celebration in Ireland, which commemorates the death of St. Patrick, Ireland’s foremost patron saint. In recent years, the celebration has become a festival of culture with the participation of several diaspora communities that continue to thrive and flourish in Ireland.

“Our participation in this treasured Irish tradition means so much more than simply sharing our culture with the Irish people,” said Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo. “Our Filipino community’s participation in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities shows how well Filipinos have integrated in Irish society and how deeply we have enriched each other’s cultures.”

To date, there are around 15,000 Filipinos who live and work in Ireland, most of who are healthcare professionals. END

Street dancers from the Galway Filipino Irish Community are decked in green, white, and orange as they wave the Philippine flag high during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Galway. Photo by Joe O’Shaughnessy

The Filipino Cork Community performs the Masskara Festival during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cork. Photo by Clare Keogh