Cork City Braces for St. Patrick's Day Disruption as Parade Gets Under Way Tomorrow

Cork city centre will experience significant road closures and bus diversions on Tuesday, 17 March, as the Cork St. Patrick's Day Parade 2026 takes to the streets at 1pm. This year's theme is "Marsh, Myth & Magic."

Road Closures

A number of key city centre roads will be closed to all traffic except buses from 06:30 to 17:30, including Patrick's Street northbound from just beyond Daunt Square to St. Patrick's Bridge, Drawbridge Street from the junction of Academy Street and Emmet Place, and Perry Street at its junction with Lavitt's Quay.

From 07:00 to 16:00, further closures will apply to Copley Street, Union Quay, Stable Lane, Connell Street, Lapp's Quay, and Clontarf Street West Lane.

From 10:30 to 16:00, Parnell Bridge southbound will be closed, along with the Anglesea Street west lane filter from Union Quay and Parnell Bridge.

From 11:15 to 17:30, a wider set of closures will come into effect across Parnell Bridge, Parnell Place, South Mall, Grand Parade, St. Patrick's Bridge, Castle Street, Cornmarket Street, St. Paul's Avenue, Merchants Quay, and Lavitt's Quay East.

Douglas Street will operate one-way only from 11:15 to 17:30, with the northern inbound lane closed at the junction of Summerhill South.

Traffic on South Terrace and George's Quay will be diverted via Sullivan's Quay and Frenche's Quay towards Greenmount or Washington Street and Bachelor's Quay. Traffic on Lavitt's Quay will be diverted across Christy Ring Bridge. There will be no public traffic access to Lapp's Quay.

Full closure details are available on the Cork City Council website.

Parking Restrictions

Parking will be removed from Monday, 16 March from 07:00 on Copley Street, and from 14:00 on Connell Street, Anglesea Street, Lapp's Quay, and Anglesea Street adjacent to St. Joachim & Ann's Home, all remaining in effect until 18:00 on Tuesday, 17 March.

From 20:00 on Monday, 16 March until 17:30 on Tuesday, parking will also be unavailable on Patrick's Street, Emmet Place, Academy Street, South Mall, Grand Parade, Parnell Place, and Union Quay.

Bus Diversions

Bus services through the city centre will be on diversion throughout the day. All northbound services that normally operate via Patrick's Street will be diverted from the start of service.

Between 10:00 and 18:00, South Mall, Patrick's Street, and Merchants Quay will not be served by any bus route.

Affected services include routes 202, 202A, 203, 205, 206, 207, 207A, 208, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 220, 220A, 223, 225, 226, and 31. Expressway and stage carriage services on routes 40, 51, 233, 236, 237, and 239 will also operate on altered routes.

Temporary bus stops will be in operation at Anglesea Street in the Old Station Road to BreastCheck area, at St. Patrick's Quay near Mary Elmes Bridge, and at Sullivan's Quay opposite Nano Nagle Bridge. Passengers at Parnell Place are asked to use the rear of the station for the duration of the parade.

Access for All

Irish Sign Language interpretation will be provided near the grandstand on Patrick's Street, close to the statue of Fr. Matthew. A dedicated area for wheelchair users and less mobile visitors will be available outside Dunnes Stores on St. Patrick's Street; no registration is required, but spaces are first-come, first-served on a one-person-plus-one-assistant basis.

An audio description service for visually impaired attendees is being trialled this year. Those interested should contact the festival by email at stpatricksfestival@corkcity.ie.

Watch Live

For those who cannot make it to the city, the parade will be livestreamed from 12:45 on Cork City Council's YouTube channel. Viewers can also send greetings to the livestream MC via WhatsApp at +353 89 947 4683.