Paddy minus the paddywhackery

The challenge for the St Patrick’s Festival, now in its 20th year, is to generate tourism while remaining authentic and contemporary for people at home, writes Colette Sexton

If you are looking for plastic shamrocks or green felt leprechaun hats, then the St Patrick’s Festival is not the place for you, according to its chief executive, Susan Kirby, who is on a mission to remove all “paddywhackery” from the event.

The annual festival is already in full swing, after launching on Friday evening with the first-ever “greening” of the Spire on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, and it will continue until late into ...