Thousands celebrate St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland

By Adam Evans

A three-day security operation is underway as people across Northern Ireland celebrate St Patrick's Day.

It's a huge one for Belfast with the parade, a live concert, a 10k race, not to mention the Six Nations Grand Slam victory.

Previous years have seen disorder in the streets in the Holylands area of the city.

This time around - locals have been staging a series of family-friendly festivals to try and keep those issues at bay.

Listen below to Brid Ruddy - the Community Director of the South Belfast Partnership.

Derry Londonderry welcomed the return of the LegenDerry Food Festival.

And there was a festival atmosphere at Patrick's Home City, Armagh as well as in Ballycastle and Enniskillen too.

Thousands of people took part in the traditional climb up the historic slopes of Slemish!

More further afield...

290 major world landmarks - including the Sydney Opera House and the Great Wall of China are being lit up in Green.

Niall Gibbons is from Tourism Ireland:

In Dublin Luke Skywalker himself, Star Wars leading man, Mark Hamill was the International Guest of Honour for Dublin's St Patrick's Day Parade.