While the major St Patrick's Day events have been cancelled or postponed, it's business as usual for major shopping centres, open in Dublin and around the State. Dunnes Stores and Tesco will open most outlets but Superquinn will close today.
A special Irish Mass is being celebrated by Cardinal Connell at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral at 10 a.m. The President, Mrs McAleese, will attend. St Patrick's Day celebrations are being held in the Down Museum in Downpatrick, with music, dance and storytelling, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Indoor at the Spawell Leisure Centre, Templeogue, Dublin, there will be Irish dancing, drama, face-painting and live music, 2 - 6 p.m.
At the RDS, an antiques fair and a mind-body-spirit festival will open today and run until Monday. A rainforest exhibition will be on view at the Ulster Museum in Belfast tomorrow.
Children can draw images of St Patrick at the National Gallery in Dublin today while the National Museum looks at the legend of the saint tomorrow. Both events are at 3 p.m.
The Irish Seal Sanctuary is releasing two seals into the sea at Donabate beach in north Dublin from 2.45 p.m. today.
The Dublin Bus city tours and Viking Splash tours will operate as usual. Some American marching bands will perform at Adare Manor in Limerick today. RTE One has replaced its customary St Patrick's Day parade programme with an Open House special from 12.05 p.m. to 3.20 p.m.
The annual walk up St Patrick's Mountain in Slemish, Co Antrim, has been cancelled.
Follow celebrations at home and abroad throughout the day on ireland.com's St Patrick's Festival website at www.ireland. com/events/st.patricks/2001/. The site features live webcams of parades in New York and Savannah with e-cards, video greetings, news, events and a gallery of readers' photos.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/7e460536-4b39-4a5e-b74b-a115823c9e15.png)