THE welcome was warm and the music was lively as York celebrated St Patrick’s Day in style.

The biting wind and driving snow did nothing to deter attendance and the festival marquee on St Sampson’s was so packed there was barely room to breathe in.

It hosted 17 hours of Irish music and entertainment.

From Gaelstrom’s opening number on Friday evening through to the closing performance by Dublin duo the Flying Donkeys on Saturday evening, the crowd thoroughly enjoyed itself, despite the difficulty of getting through the crush to the bar.

Local children from St Aelred’s School of Irish Dance performed traditional Irish dancing, as did members of the O’Connor Academy of Irish Dance.

Performers after their turn praised the crowd’s reception.

The fourth annual York Irish St Patrick’s Weekend Festival, organised by the York Irish Association, also included a gaelic football demonstration, traditional Irish food and drink and a history of the Irish in York.

There were two ceilidhs - with Fiddlers Wreck on Friday and Gaelstrom on Saturday.

Outside the marquee, the city centre was full of festivalgoers and others wearing leprechaun hats, bright green or with irish tricolours painted on their faces.