Kate and William join St Patrick’s Day celebrations by sinking a pint of Guinness

Hundreds of thousands of people are painting the town green tonight after taking to the streets to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Young and old from all nationalities filled towns across Ireland and the UK dressed in shades of green and wearing shamrock-themed fancy dress to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were among many who enjoyed a good glug of Guinness as they visited the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at their base in Hounslow, London.

After paying their respects by holding a minute’s silence for the victims of the New Zealand terror attack, William and Kate enjoyed a pint of the black stuff and watched a St Patrick’s Day parade, while petting dogs and chatting to excited children in green fancy dress.

British party revellers were out in full force in their best St Patrick’s Day outfits too, with celebrations held in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh.

Marching bands and dancers made their way through the capital kicking off in Piccadilly, while thousands packed out Trafalgar Square for a three-day festival overseen by Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt, 54.

The Mayor of London’s office has organised the annual parade since 2012 in a bid to bring the ‘[best of Irish culture and a packed programme of great entertainment to Trafalgar Square’.

More than 50,000 people join in the festivities waving Irish tricolour flags and shamrocks while watching the colourful procession.

In Dublin, President Michael D Higgins and wife Sabina, joined the crowds that lined the streets of the city for the country’s flagship parade, with the theme of ‘storytelling’.

As the sun shone down, large crowds gathered to get best views of the famous procession led by Lord Mayor of Dublkin Nial Ring and grand marshals Deirdre O’Kane and Jason Byrne.

Pageant ensembles, marching bands and arts groups from across Ireland, Germany and the US, dazzled onlookers with colourful costumes, larger than life puppets and dancing performers.

In his annual, greatly anticipated St Patrick’s Day message, President Higgins said: ‘May I, on this St Patrick’s Day 2019, send my warmest greetings as Uachtaran na hEireann, President of Ireland, to all our extended family across the world.

‘Wherever you may be, and in whatever circumstances, you are part of Ireland’s global family joining with us as we celebrate our shared Irishness, its culture, heritage and history.’

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said reaching out to the Irish diaspora – 70 million people who call Ireland home – was really important, especially on Ireland’s National Day.

Participants later made their way from Parnell Square across the Liffey to St Patrick’s Cathedral over several hours in the afternoon, as conditions turned wet and windy.

In Cork, Olympian Rob Heffernan led the city centre parade which saw more than 3,000 community groups taking part.

The theme of the celebrations this year was Stories of Cork and around 50,000 people were expected to attend.

A similar number was expected to line the streets of Limerick, which hosted a parade, with the theme the wonders of space.

In Galway Paralympic medallist Shane Curran was the guest of honour, while the earliest parade of the day got under way in Dingle at 6am.

Festivities are expected to carry on late into the night.