The St. Patrick’s Day Festival program was launched in Dublin yesterday afternoon.

The festival will run from Friday, March 12 to Wednesday, March 17.

The festival begins on March 12 with a day of visual arts, comedy and film in venues around Dublin City.

On March 13, there will be a giant treasure hunt in Dublin while Limerick will hole the annual National Lottery Skyfest.

Limerick will also hold a street festival to coincide with the massive Skyfest fireworks display.

On March 14, Dublin will hold the "Big Day Out", the guide describes it as a festival within a festival, and there will be plenty of street theatre on display.

St. Patrick’s Festival will also stage two symposiums. The first is Irish Youth in a Borderless Word in association with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This event will take place on Monday, 15th of March in Temple Bar.

The second is Big Ideas: What has Ireland done for the World? This event will be held near Harcourt Street on the Tuesday.

For more information www.stpatricksfestival.ie