ST PATRICK’S Day was marked in York this weekend with the city’s third St Patrick’s Weekend Festival.

The events were organised by the York Irish Association, which put on a city centre festival to celebrate the saint’s day and raise awareness of Irish culture and tradition for the first time in 2015.

This year the events kicked off with an exhibition of Irish dancing by St.Aelred’s School of Irish Dance on Friday evening, and carried on with music, dancing, traditional Irish food and drink and an exhibition about the history of the Irish in York, before the celebrations came to an end with a ceilidh on Saturday night.

The York Irish Association was set up in May 2014, and with 1300 Irish born people living in York at the time of the 2011 census, the organisation now has 600 members currently on its books. It runs regular events and activities such as Irish music nights and culture nights, talks, Irish language lessons and Gaelic football sessions.