Children from Newton Heath Youth Club in their Saint Patrick's Day Parade guise.

A cold and cloudy march afternoon couldn't stop thousands from turning out in green to celebrate the annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Manchester.

Spectators lined both sides of the half mile length of Queens Road to wave on the Parade which traditionally starts its journey from the Irish World Heritage Centre in Cheetham Hill and follows its route into the heart of Manchester City Centre.

This years parade was the biggest yet in its history with around 42 floats and bands taking part which took at least 30 minutes to traverse the short distance to Cheetham Hill, our photographer - John O'Rourke commented "I was wondering where the end of the parade was."

Heading up near the front of the parade were children from Newton Heath Youth Club, who as part of a project headed by Margot Power - Project Officer at the Irish World Heritage Centre, had designed and created themed costumes and a model of Saint Patrick, and looked very striking among the parade as they made their way along the route on push - scooters.

With the parade got on it's way, most people made their way into the Irish World Heritage Centre to continue their celebration of Irish culture throughout the rest of the day with a fun fair catering for families and entertainment from a host of favourite musicians right into the night.

Special thanks go out to Brian Kennedy and Vincent Brady, and everyone who worked hard behind the scenes to make this years Parade another successful event.

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