This year’s St Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled.

The decision to halt preparations was made this morning at a meeting between the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Sheehan and Chief Executive, Ann Doherty, with the Council execs pointing to the “evolving circumstances around Covid-19 virus”.

The annual event, which attracts more than 50,000 visitors into Cork City Centre, was due to take place on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020. Up to 3,000 participants were due to take part, including some visiting from the USA.

Dublin City Council has since followed suit, cancelling the traditional St Patrick’s Day celebration in the capital also.

A statement released by Cork City Council said:

“A risk assessment, based on World Health Organisation guidelines, was carried out by Cork City Council which concluded that based on the demographic of those attending the parade, the close proximity of people attending the event and the duration of the event (among other considerations), Cork City Council is not in a position to provide the necessary assurances in relation to current WHO Guidelines.

Update on Cork City’s St Patrick’s Day Parade☘️

Following a meeting this morning between Lord Mayor Cllr John Sheehan and Chief Executive, Ann Doherty, a decision was made to cancel this year’s parade

ℹ️ For more info please visit: https://t.co/8J0AfIIYMO#COVID19ireland pic.twitter.com/5jeVEbPoCP

— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) March 9, 2020

“Both the Lord Mayor and CE agreed that the welfare of attendees and participants is the primary concern and so, the Lord Mayor and CE have made a decision to cancel this year’s parade.”