Across the country, communities big and small are getting ready for St Patrick's Day parades.
For many towns and villages, the parade is the biggest community event of the year.
This week organising committees are putting the last-minute preparations in place for the annual celebration.
Without volunteers, parades would simply not go ahead.
In Clara, Co Offaly, Bertie McMahon is the main organiser of the annual St Patrick's Day parade.
This year he is celebrating 50 years of organising parades locally.
The 2026 parade will be led by Paddy Claffey, Ireland's oldest man.
A native of Ferbane, Paddy is 104 years old and will be the parade's Grand Marshal.
"It's an honour, a great honour, I was surprised I was asked, I couldn't get over it," he said.
Next month Paddy will turn 105. He still has fond memories of St Patrick's Day growing up.
"We always had shamrock but we wouldn't buy that time, you'd go out into the field and dig a lump and it could be clover," he laughed.
"I used to go on a lorry in the Athlone parade. It was a big parade and we used to step dance. I loved step dancing," he said.
"I was well able to dance and when I'd hear a piece of music, I'd tear it out of it," he laughed.
Paddy married Margaret in October 1953.
"I had a great wife. She was a great cook. She was from Wexford and she went to an Agricultural school there and she learned to make brown bread and butter," he said.
"She used to make lovely apple tarts too," he said.
Margaret died in 2004 and Paddy said his family have been so good to him since she died. He puts his longevity down to "good food, a good family and hard work".
Mr Claffey stopped smoking when he was 45 and said he has never broken his pledge.
"The hard work gave me great exercise too," he said.
Paddy said he also has a strong faith and says the same prayer every night before he goes to sleep.
On St Patrick's Day, relatives are travelling from Wexford, Cork and Galway to see him lead the Clara parade.
Taking it all in his stride, he said he hopes it all goes to plan.
"It's a great honour, a great honour, there will be an awful crowd there I suppose," he said.
"I hope I'm able for it all, only for my knees and my hips, I could be dancing now," he laughed.
For the parade's organiser, it all began 1976 when Bertie McMahon brought the local community together for the town's Christmas parade.
"I completely fell in love with parades," he said.
From a Christmas parade, Mr McMahon then turned his hand to organising the St Patrick's day parade in the town.
Over the years, the 78-year-old said he has worked to make the event special with bands travelling from all over Ireland to take part.
"We had the Lambert Puppet Theatre here one year, that was very special, we've had so many great entertainers here," he said.
He also spoke of his delight when the town's parade first appeared on RTÉ News.
"I remember we cried with joy when we saw RTÉ's then Midlands Correspondent Gerry Reynolds turn up to cover our parade one year."
Mr McMahon paid tribute to the business people in the town who have supported the parade.
"Each and everyone of them have given so much to this parade," he said.
Across the country, volunteer groups rely on the goodwill of businesses to make donations, to keep parades going every year.
"I have a great group of people around me," he said.
"I have great support too. I would boast, but Clara is one of the best towns to give sponsorship," he added.
"People are really behind this and they want to be together on St Patrick's Day."
Mr McMahon said 50 years on, he is still as motivated as ever.
"Fifty years organising them and I enjoyed every minute of it," he said.
"I'm proud of this town, I love this town and it's important to the Clara people that we keep the tradition going.
"It's my hope that I'll be here to organise it for a while longer, it will break my heart when I have to retire," he added.
