Saint Patrick's Day have been cross-community St Patrick's Day parades in towns throughout Northern Ireland, which have attracted thousands of spectators. In the mid-1990s the government of the Republic of Ireland began a campaign to use St Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St Patrick's Festival, with the aims: The first St Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five-day
CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent Guard vessels and During 1976 "Louis S. St-Laurent", Captain Paul M. Fournier in command, made a partial transit of the Northwest Passage traveling from east to west, through Lancaster Sound, Peel Sound, and Victoria Strait. In 1979 "Louis S. St-Laurent", Captain George Burdock in command, made a full east to west transit of the Northwest Passage. She assisted CCGS "Franklin", and circumnavigated North America. "Louis S. St-Laurent" underwent an extensive and costly modernization at Halifax Shipyard Ltd. in Halifax, Nova Scotia between 1988–1993 which saw her hull lengthened as well as new propulsion and navigation equipment installed. The modernization program