More than 50,000 people attended the St Patrick’s Day parade in central London on Sunday.
The annual event, which celebrates the patron saint of Ireland, has become a highlight of the capital’s cultural calendar.
Crowds marching alongside the parade enjoyed music, food, drink, and colourful cruises before they finished at Trafalgar Square to conclude the day’s celebrations.
St Patrick’s Day 2025 in the capital saw live music from Irish Women in Harmony, Irish-Indian-Malaysian DJ and broadcaster Tara Kumar, and Rag-CV.
Tourism Ireland representative Gearoid Dolan said: “[The event is] always good craic.
“Become more patriotic, don’t be afraid to say where you’re from. Embrace it – embrace the culture.
“I think it’s always good to have diverse cultures around in London, I think that’s one of its main things, so don’t hide who you are.”
One family in the crowds had been attending the London St Patrick’s Day parade for 30 years.
Tricia, 55, was born in County Cork in Ireland and moved to London when she was 18.
There she met Barry Roche, 57, from Barnet in London, and the two got married and had two children, Grace, 21, and Sean, 20, who they’ve taken along to the London parade ever since.
The multi-generational Irish family said: “It’s great to see all the Irish in London together from every county in Ireland.
“We’ll continue to bring our children here to celebrate the Irish.”
Grace Roche was born in north London and as a second-generation Irish Londoner, she spoke of the difficulties surrounding her cultural identity, saying that sometimes she felt stripped of [her] Irish nationality.
She said: “Sometimes I wish I had the accent just to be more distinctly Irish.
“Last night I got called a plastic paddy in a pub which was not a very positive experience. It’s a horrible term – second-generation Irish people are not plastic paddies.
“I feel Irish in England and English in Ireland.”
But Grace had hope for the future given the increasing popularity in Irish music and demand for Irish pop culture among the younger generations, circulated on social media like TikTok.
She said: “Music is the most important thing: I feel like bands like Kneecap and the Fontaines D.C. are popular even with non-Irish people.
“Kneecap just did a concert in Melbourne and it was packed, for example.”
In response to whether she thought this was appropriation or appreciation, Grace said: “I don’t really think you can appropriate Irish culture.
“Everyone says on St Patrick’s Day ‘everyone’s Irish!’ because it’s just a fun day, and it’s about drinking and having fun.”
St Patrick’s Day celebrations in London emerged after the Second World War and became increasingly popular in the 1950s as Irish emigration reached its highest levels for a century in that decade.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was the organiser of the event and posted on Instagram: “The Irish community is at the heart of our city’s spirit, and today’s St Patrick’s Day parade shone a spotlight on their enduring contribution.”
The 2025 exhibitions on display around Trafalgar Square included a Peace Heroines Exhibition, which showcased Ireland’s unsung female heroes, and even a lifesize ‘OldBog Cottage’, which depicted a traditional Irish cottage from the last century.
Picture credits: Eleanor Mann
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