He may have been too small to see the parade as a child but Olympic medal winner Rob Heffernan was walking tall as he led the St Patrick’s Day parade through his native city.

Paddys of all ages donned the patron saint’s costume and marched through Cork city today to celebrate the restoration of the city’s landmark St Patrick’s Bridge.

The first 70 bookings are available on Friday, March 17 and the remaining 430 will be available across selected midweek dates in March.

Namesakes of Ireland's patron saint were today offered a free ticket to paint the town green this St Patrick’s Day.