Editing Saint Patrick's Day (section)

====England==== <!--Northern Ireland is covered in the "Ireland" section-->
[[File:St Patrick's Day - Trafalgar Square March 2006.jpg|thumb|Saint Patrick's Day celebration at [[Trafalgar Square]] in London, 2006]]
In England, the Royal Colonel or [[Colonel-in-chief]] traditionally present bowls of shamrock to members of the [[Irish Guards]], a regiment in the [[British Army]], following [[Alexandra of Denmark|Queen Alexandra]] introducing the tradition in 1901.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31927196 Duchess of Cambridge Presents St Patrick's Day Shamrocks to Irish Guards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414052435/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31927196 |date=14 April 2019 }}. (17 March 2015) [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref> Since 2012, the [[Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge|Duchess of Cambridge]] has presented the bowls of shamrock to the Irish Guards. While female royals are often tasked with presenting the bowls of shamrock, male royals have also undertaken the role, such as [[George VI|King George VI]] in 1950 to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Irish Guards, and in 2016 the [[Prince William, Duke of Cambridge|Duke of Cambridge]] in place of his wife.<ref>[https://www.royal.uk/duke-cambridge-joins-irish-guards-st-patricks-day-parade?page=14 The Duke of Cambridge Joins the Irish Guards at the St Patrick's Day Parade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108201230/https://www.royal.uk/duke-cambridge-joins-irish-guards-st-patricks-day-parade?page=14 |date=8 January 2019 }}. (17 March 2016) Royal.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref><ref>Palmer, Richard. (17 March 2016). [https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/487741/William-St-Patricks-Day-Parade-Shamrock Prince William Handed Out Shamrocks at the St Patrick's Day Parade as Kate Broke with Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414044122/https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/487741/William-St-Patricks-Day-Parade-Shamrock |date=14 April 2019 }}. ''[[Sunday Express]]'' Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref> Fresh Shamrocks are presented to the Irish Guards, regardless of where they are stationed, and are flown in from Ireland.<ref>Rayner, Gordon ,(17 March 2015) Duchess of Cambridge hands out St Patrick's Day shamrocks to Irish Guards. ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''. Retrieved 8 January 2019</ref>

While some Saint Patrick's Day celebrations could be conducted openly in Britain pre 1960s, this would change following the commencement by the IRA's bombing campaign on [[Great Britain|mainland Britain]] and as a consequence this resulted in a suspicion of all things Irish and those who supported them which led to people of Irish descent wearing a sprig of shamrock on Saint Patrick's day in private or attending specific events.<ref name="Pages 180–183">Cronin, Mike; Adair, Daryl (2002). ''The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick's Day''. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18004-7}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eAuAAgAAQBAJ&dq=irish+in+uk+1960s+wearing+shamrocks+st+patricks+day&pg=PA180 pp. 180–183] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112025027/https://books.google.es/books?id=eAuAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA180&dq=irish+in+uk+1960s+wearing+shamrocks+st+patricks+day&hl=es&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR0MCz0tvfAhUj8-AKHcs1D48Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=irish%20in%20uk%201960s%20wearing%20shamrocks%20st%20patricks%20day&f=false |date=12 January 2020 }}</ref> Today, after many years following [[Good Friday Agreement|the Good Friday Agreement]], people of Irish descent openly wear a sprig of shamrock to celebrate their Irishness.<ref name="Pages 180–183"/>

Christian denominations in Great Britain observing his [[feast day]] include [[The Church of England]] and the Roman Catholic Church.<ref name="Irish and non-Irish celebrants">{{Cite book|title=Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa|publisher=[[HarperOne]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuOlQJPbycwC&pg=PA135|quote=The most famous church in the United States is dedicated to him, St. Patrick's in New York City. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all ethnic backgrounds by the wearing of green and parades. His feast, which is on the General Roman Calendar, has been given as March&nbsp;17 in liturgical calendars and martyrologies. The Church of England, the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America observe his feast on this day, and he is also commemorated on the Russian Orthodox calendar.|first=Richard P.|last=Mcbrien|date= 2009|isbn=9780061763656|access-date=13 November 2010|archive-date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003163247/https://books.google.com/books?id=IuOlQJPbycwC&pg=PA135|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Birmingham]] holds the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in Britain with a city centre parade<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.search.connectinghistories.org.uk/engine/resource/exhibition/standard/default.asp?txtKeywords=parade&lstContext=&lstResourceType=&lstExhibitionType=&chkPurchaseVisible=&txtDateFrom=&txtDateTo=&originator=%2Fengine%2Fsearch%2Fdefault%5Fhndlr%2Easp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=24&text=0&resource=503 |title=Brigitte Winsor: Photographs of the St Patrick's Day Parade |work=Connecting Histories |date=12 March 2006 |access-date=17 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722084529/http://www.search.connectinghistories.org.uk/engine/resource/exhibition/standard/default.asp?txtKeywords=parade&lstContext=&lstResourceType=&lstExhibitionType=&chkPurchaseVisible=&txtDateFrom=&txtDateTo=&originator=%2Fengine%2Fsearch%2Fdefault_hndlr.asp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=24&text=0&resource=503 |archive-date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> over a two-mile (3&nbsp;km) route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2009/02/17/st_patricks_2009_feature.shtml |title=St. Patrick's Parade 2009 |work=BBC Birmingham |date=18 March 2009 |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924152850/http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2009/02/17/st_patricks_2009_feature.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

London, since 2002, has had an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade which takes place on weekends around the 17th, usually in Trafalgar Square. In 2008, the water in the Trafalgar Square fountains was dyed green. In 2020, the parade was cancelled due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[Liverpool]] has the highest proportion of residents with Irish ancestry of any English city.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.merseyreporter.com/history/historic/irish-immigration.shtml | work=Mersey Reporter | title=Irish Immigration to and from Liverpool (UK) | access-date=17 March 2013 | archive-date=8 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208140727/http://www.merseyreporter.com/history/historic/irish-immigration.shtml | url-status=live }}</ref> This has led to a long-standing celebration on Saint Patrick's Day in terms of music, cultural events and the parade.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[Manchester]] hosts a two-week Irish festival in the weeks prior to Saint Patrick's Day. The festival includes an Irish Market based at the city's town hall which flies the Irish tricolour opposite the Union Flag, a large parade as well as a large number of cultural and learning events throughout the two-week period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manchesteririshfestival.co.uk/ |title=Manchester Irish Festival |access-date=17 March 2010 |archive-date=21 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221081149/http://www.manchesteririshfestival.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>