Bands bring razzle dazzle to parade
More than 40,000 people lined the streets to watch performances from 25 bands from Ireland, Slovenia, Germany and the US.
The 160-member Shorecrest Highlander Marching Band from Washington, US, stole the show taking the prize of overall winner of the parade and also the award for Best Dressed Majorettes.
Commenting on what the Limerick International Band Festival means for the Limerick area, Pat Daly, Shannon Development Regional Manager, Limerick, said:
"The festival was established to bring additional visitors to the Limerick area Last year, it is estimated that the festival attracted 1,000 overseas visitors and generated 2.7m in tourism revenue for the Shannon region.
"This year we expect to generate the same this should be a welcome boost to hotels, other accommodations, restaurants, and shops in the Shannon region."
Yesterday's International Band Parade is part of the St Patrick's Springfest a seven-day festival of fun taking place for the first time in Limerick this year.
The festival incorporates the St Patrick's Day Parade which takes place in the city centre at 11.30am today.
In Dublin, pop acts Darius, Picture House and Fifth Avenue took to the stage in Merrion Square for the Big Day Out as thousands of people celebrated St Patrick's weekend.
Fairground rides, an inflatable wrestling ring and Paddyoke Irish-style karaoke were just a few of the attractions for the thousands of visitors making the most of the bank holiday weekend sunshine.
On Saturday night, almost 100,000 people were treated to a spectacular fireworks display at the Skyfest in Dublin city centre.
The display got underway shortly after 8pm and around 7,000 fireworks lit up the Dublin skyline during the 20-minute show.
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