According to a telephone poll conducted by Ipsos MRBI, 58 percent people in the Republic report feeling proud of being Irish on St Patrick’s Day.

The data shows that poorer people and people over 65 are most likely to express pride in their nationality.

Many of those polled said they intended to attend their local St Patrick’s Day parade on Monday– 57 percent in Munster, 45 percent in Connacht-Ulster, with Leinster just behind at 44 percent. Just 30 percent of those who live in Dublin said they will attend the capital’s parade, which is the biggest.

The Irish Times
reports there was a divide on whether Government Ministers should visit overseas events on the holiday.

Forty-nine percent said they should go but 46 percent say they should not. Five percent said they had no opinion. Opinion on the matter was divided between men and women and between social classes. More men (57 percent) said Ministers should travel compared to women (41 percent). Seventy percent of those financially better off thought Ministers should travel, compared to 42 percent in the poorest social category.

Sixty-one percent of those polled think that people living abroad celebrate St Patrick’s day more than people living in Ireland.