St Patrick's Day: Dublin parade kicks off under blue skies as 500,000 gather

It is St Patrick's Day, with an estimated 500,000 people expected in the capital for the parade, with 100,000 visitors from overseas bolstering the local attendance. Dublin's parade is due to kick off at noon under the stewardship of grand marshal Patrick Kielty. The theme this year is "spréach", the Irish for spark, which could manifest itself as "the glint of craic in the eye that is so familiar to Irish people" or "the light of innovation and discovery so present throughout our history", examples in the official festival literature suggest. There will also be updates from parades in the…