St Patrick’s Day in Temple Bar: Live updates from Dublin’s most famous pubs

Whether you're Irish or not, everyone loves celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day - a tradition worldwide that sees millions of people coming together to drink, dress in green, eat traditional Irish food and celebrate the country's heritage.

But if you can't, do the next best thing and join The Independent as it spends the day in Dublin's most iconic drinking area, Temple Bar.

Saint Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a celebration in honour of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.

The day of celebration, which marks the day of Saint Patrick’s death, was originally a religious holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and made official by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century.

Observed by the Catholic church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church, the day was typically observed with church services, feasts and alcohol.

Alcohol consumption has always been an integral part of Saint Patrick’s Day as historically, the day was celebrated with a day-long lift of the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol - which has contributed to the present-day drinking.

Interestingly, Saint Patrick wasn’t actually Irish. He is believed to have been born in either Scotland or Wales and sold into slavery in Ireland as a child.

In 1903, Saint Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland.

This year, and every year, it is celebrated on March 17.