158 Patricks celebrating Cork's refurbished St Patrick's bridge!

Are you called Paddy, Pat, Patricia, Patryk, Pádraig, Paudie, Patricio, PJ, Patsy or Patrice?

Would you like to join us for the ultimate St Patrick’s Weekend fun photo to celebrate the €1.2 million repair and rehabilitation of Cork’s St Patrick’s Bridge?

The city's much-loved bridge is 158 years old and so we are making a public call out for 158 people named Patrick or Patricia - in any language -  to come join us on the bridge for a once-in-a-lifetime celebratory shot?

Young and old are welcome and the first 100 to meet us at the Metropole Hotel in advance will get a free St Patrick costume to wear in the picture and take home.

All participants are asked to meet us at the Metropole Hotel at 12.15 on Saturday March 16. The commemorative picture will be taken at 12.45 on the bridge.

Cork City Centre Co-Ordinator Paul Mc Guirk said: “We’re really looking forward to ‘158 Cork Paddys’ Event. It’s going to be brilliant fun and the rest of the country will be green with envy. We’re encouraging city centre businesses to join  in the celebratory mood by coming up with quirky offers for the Patryks, Patsys and PJs who will be in town. We’ll be using the hashtag #158corkpaddys on social media in advance so join in the fun”.

Anyone interested in taking part in the event can register on Eventbrite.

A formal bridge opening ceremony will also take place on the bridge at 2pm that Saturday afternoon when a commemorative plaque will be unveiled. The trowel that was used to lay the bridge’s original foundation stone 158 years ago will also lay the last piece of stonework. Bishops John Buckley and Paul Colton will perform a joint blessing of the bridge.  The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Mick Finn, elected members and senior management from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, who funded the project in conjunction with Cork City Council, will be in attendance.

As part of the project, Cumnor Construction cleaned, repointed and repaired the stonework on the 19th century heritage bridge. Specialist repair and restoration work was undertaken on the bridge’s lamp columns and additional damaged lamp columns that were found in storage, were refurbished and put in place. The bridge’s footpaths and carriageway surfacing were also replaced and new road markings put in place. Existing traffic lights, elevation and architectural lighting and signage were all upgraded.