Sunny outlook for parades set to bring out unusually large crowds

Warm, sunny weather is likely to draw unusually large crowds on to the streets of Ireland's towns and cities to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

The Dublin parade is expected to attract more than 200,000 spectators, while the Cork, Galway and Limerick parades will be watched by about 100,000 people.

Weather forecasters yesterday predicted exceptional weather for the national holiday. Good sunny spells, light winds and temperatures of up to 15C were expected by Met Eireann. Thousands of Dubliners made the most of an unusually mild and dry March evening yesterday, when they watched Macnas and the Catalan group Els Comediants jointly stage a performance based on Homer's Odyssey on several stages in the city centre.

Sporting events today will be attended by tens of thousands of people. The All Ireland football and hurling club finals are expected to bring 40,000 people to Croke Park, while thousands will see the Cistercian College, Roscrea, take on Blackrock College at rugby in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup at Lansdowne Road.

Istabraq's win yesterday in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle got St Patrick's Day celebrations going early for thousands of Irish racing fans at Cheltenham and they will be hoping for more success on the second day of the meeting.

The President, Mrs McAleese, who will attend Mass at the Pro-Cathedral, will review the Dublin parade, which starts at 11.30 a.m.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is in Washington, where he is to make two visits to the White House. During the first, he will present President Clinton with the traditional bowl of shamrock and exchange greetings. This will be followed by a political lunch, which will be attended by a number of Northern politicians. The lunch will be hosted by the new speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mr Denis Hastert. In the evening Mr Ahern will attend a White House reception. The grand marshal of the New York parade will be the 78-year-old actress Maureen O'Hara, who will lead off the parade from 44th Street in mid-Manhattan. The Irish Lesbian and Gay Organisation has again been banned from marching, and will not be permitted by city authorities to protest at its exclusion.

St Patrick's Day will also be celebrated in Paris, where more than 50 Irish pubs are expected to enjoy their busiest night of the year. The Commitments and The Dubliners will perform at the St Patrick's Day celebrations in Eurodisney. Later, more than 500 people will join the Irish Ambassador, Mr Patrick O'Connor, for champagne and canapes at his residence in the Hotel de Breteuil.

The Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, will attend the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast in Melbourne, where he will be joined by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera.

Gardai working on the peacekeeping mission in Cyprus will stage a concert in a village near Larnaca, which will include artists from both sections of the local community and children from Greek and Turkish schools. The concert will take place in Pyla, a village in the UN-controlled buffer zone.

Gardai say it will be the first inter-community activity in the village in the last 25 years. The UN Secretary-General's representative in Cyprus, Dame Ann Hercus, will present certificates to local schoolchildren.