St Patrick's Festival opens in Dublin tonight to start five days and nights of celebrations.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the capital to celebrate Ireland's national holiday.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Vincent Jackson, will officially open the festival, which begins with a choral performance by the RTÉ Cor na nÓg children's choir and the transformation of Dublin's City Hall using light and visual projections.
Other events this evening include a theatrical concert with Barabbas at the National Concert Hall, while in the heart of the IFSC in Docklands, people can take a colourful journey into Amozozo, a luminous inflatable maze filled with tunnels, slopes and 60 triangular shaped domes.
Over the next five days the city centre see more than 4,000 performers taking part in an array of free activities, including music, street theatre, family carnivals, comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt and night spectacles.
The highlight of the weekend will be the St Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday afternoon and a firework display at Docklands on Sunday night.
